Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

Soil mulching has been used globally as an efficient strategy for improving soil properties and enhancing crop growth and productivity. Since most plastic mulches used in agriculture are made of polyethylene, microplastic residues are non-biodegradable and generally difficultly recovered from soils, leading to a potential environmental risk after long-term application. Present study investigated the effects of organic and inorganic mulches on soil properties and productivity of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) crop by conducting an experiment with treatments including no-mulch, maize straw (6 t ha-1), groundnut shells (6 t ha-1), saw dust (6 t ha-1), transparent polythene (25 ? thickness), black polythene (25 ? thickness) and soil dust (1-2 cm soil depth). Results indicated that transparent polythene raised soil temperature by 8% and moisture content by 20% compared to no-mulch, but was similar to organic mulches. Chilli pod yield with transparent polythene mulch (3155 kg ha-1) was statistically on par with groundnut shells (2842 kg ha-1) and also had lower weed dry mater (94, 60 and 59 % at 20, 40 and 60 days after transplanting (DAT), respectively) over control, but was statistically similar with organic mulches. All organic mulches improved soil physical properties like bulk density (BD), porosity and infiltration rate by 6.47, 10 and 4.09 %, respectively over polythene-mulch.