Evaluation of the Use of Plastic Mulch to Control Soil Moisture and Improve the Marketing Characteristics of the Potato Crop )Sponta) - Autumn Loop

Abstract

This study was carried out in the city of Al-Tal in the countryside of Damascus during the agricultural season 2020-2021, with the aim of evaluating the use of plastic mulch to control soil moisture and improve the marketing characteristics of the potato crop - autum season. The study was conducted on Sponta cultivar. The experiment was designed on the basis of randomized complete block. The study consisted of three coverage treatments (without coverage, black cover and white cover) with three replications for each treatment. The water requirement for the treatment without mulch reached the highest value of 240.24 mm, while the values of the actual water requirement for the black Mulch and white mulch treatments were 170.56 and 179.02 mm, respectively. The volume of required water for irrigation throughout the study period was 6162.73, 5310.9, and 5072.4 m³.h^-3 for without mulch treatment, white mulch treatment, and black mulch treatment, respectively, and the water use efficiency (WUE) was 14.59, 12.29, and 8.35 kg.m³ for without mulch treatment, white mulch treatment, and black mulch treatment, respectively. The results showed that the treatment of mulching with black mulch was superior for all the studied parameters. The height of the potato plant was 61.58, 60.06, and 56.95 cm for black mulching, white mulch and without mulch, respectively. The number of tubers in the potato plant was 6.37, 5.83, and 4.3 Tuber.plant^-1 for black mulching, white mulch and without mulching, respectively. The size of potato tubers was 202.83, 192.83, and 174.33 cm³ for black mulching, white mulch and without mulching, respectively. The weight of potato tubers was 143.6, 136 and 113.6 g for black mulching, white mulch and without mulching, respectively. The yield per plant was 914.47, 797.43, and 596.07 g.plant^-1 for black mulching, white mulch and without mulching, respectively. The marketable of potato yield was 27407.4, 24185.2, and 19074.1 kg.ha^-1 for black mulching, white mulch and without mulching, respectively. The percentage of soil attached to potato tubers was 3.4, 4.2 and 14.9% for black mulching, white mulch and without mulch, respectively.