Effect of Different Mulching Materials on Growth and Yield of Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.)]

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Bhauratar in Bahudarmai Municipality of Parsa district of Nepal during spring-summer season started from February to May 2018 to assess the effectiveness of different organic and inorganic mulches in modulating the soil environment, growth, performance and yield of okra. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 5 treatments as follows: (1) Control, (2) Black plastic mulch, (3) Rice straw, (4) Saw dust and (5) Transparent White plastic mulch. Each treatment was replicated four times. Seed germination was significantly differed with the type of mulching material used. The highest seed germination percentage (82.00) was recorded from white plastic mulch plot and the lowest germination percentage (63.75) was recorded from control plot. The highest plant height was recorded from white plastic mulch at 30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS than that of other treatments. The highest number of picking (15.5) was recorded from black plastic mulch followed by white plastic mulch (14.25). The maximum fruit length (12.18 cm) was obtained from black plastic mulch and lowest (10.84 cm) was recorded from rice straw mulch. The highest productivity (29.86 Mt/ha) was recorded from black plastic mulch followed by white plastic mulch (25.03 Mt/ha). These findings suggest that plastic mulch causes positive effects on the growth and yield of Okra and maximum yield was obtained from black plastic mulch.