Effect of polyethylene plastic mulch on yield and fruit quality parameters of tomato

Abstract

The greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of black polyethylene (PE) plastic mulch on yield and some quality parameters of tomato. In the study, black PE mulch material was laid on raised beds and bare soil (not mulched) was used as control. Mulch did not affect plant height, fruit shape index, chroma and hue angle, firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity. Black PE plastic mulch had a positive influence on yield.Significantly higher stem diameter and yield were obtained from the black PE mulch application (17.23 mm and 18.78 kg da -1 , respectively) compared to the control (15.30 mm and 16.75 kg da -1 , respectively). On the other hand, vitamin C was higher in control (41.13 mg 100 g -1 ) than in the black PE mulch application.

Improvement of Productivity and Quality of Nepalese Tomato Genotypes Using Black Polyethylene Film as Mulching Material

“…In addition, it is an important fruit quality trait in tomato that needs to be improved so fruits are more attractive to consumers [15]. However, [9] found a non-significant effect on tomato fruit firmness between the plastic mulch and no-mulch conditions. A potential genotype for commercial cultivation for fresh consumption, storage, and industrial application is identified among the examined genotypes as HRD 109, which has a greater level of TSS (5.06 oBrix), a thick pericarp, and the best marketable yield.…”

“…They also reported 20.7 to 29.8% increase in tomato yield with black plastic mulch compared to bare soil. Additionally, tomato fruit quality has also been improved by the use of black plastic mulch [9]. Therefore, it was worthy to evaluate the effect of black polyethylene mulch on yield and quality attributes of promising tomato genotypes developed by the National Horticulture Research Centre (NHRC), Nepal.…”