Agricultural Reviews

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Effect of Mulching on Vegetable Production: A Review

Mahesh Choudhary, Anop Kumari, Santosh Choudhary
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1Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Fatehpur-Shekhawati-332 301, Sikar, (SKN Agriculture University, Jobner-Jaipur), Rajasthan, India.
Cite article:- Choudhary Mahesh, Kumari Anop, Choudhary Santosh (2022). Effect of Mulching on Vegetable Production: A Review. Agricultural Reviews. 43(3): 296-303. doi: 10.18805/ag.R-2231.
Vegetables have much importance as economic, nutritional, medicinal and industrial and also have employment opportunities. However, vegetable production is a costly enterprise as it requires heavy cultural practices such as irrigation, weeding, fertilizers and protection from biotic and abiotic stress. Many times the farmers loose the entire crop in rabi and summer due to inadequate irrigation facility. In addition, seedling establishment is a tedious job in arid and semi-arid climatic conditions due to water scarcity. To improve the productivity of vegetables where either particularly non-irrigated rainfed conditions, proper moisture management of the soil is necessary. Thus, in an attempt to reducing number of irrigation and chemical inputs for weed control, mulch may be a good alternative of conventional cultivation practice. It reduces the water evaporation by interfering the radiation falling on the soil surface and thus delays the drying of the soil and reduces the soil thermal regime during the day time. It also reduces the weed population and improves the microbial activity of the soil by improving the environment around the root zone. Therefore, the practices of mulching in vegetable production have been advised to cut-down the cost of cultivation and obtain quality produce with increased profits.

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