The application of different mulches and its effect on soybean yield

Abstract

Mulching is known as a great suppressant, a modern agricultural practise. It modifies the soil microenvironment and maintains crop yield. This study was conducted in January to April 2019 to investigate the effectiveness of several plants for mulch in various doses on soybean crop and to evaluate their effect to soybean yield. This study employed Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) Factorial with two factors. The first factor was 3 different plants applied for soil mulching: mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia), siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) and neem (Azadirachta indica). The second factor was 4 different doses of mulch: 0, 8, 16 and 24 tons ha-1. Variables observed were number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, seed weight per plant, and yield of dry seeds. The results indicated that the application of different mulches did not have effect on all variables observed. However, the application of 16 - 24 tons mulch ha-1 has improved the number of pods per plant and yield of dry seeds. There was no interaction between plant types for mulching and dose of mulch in all variables observed.