Yield and Economic Analyses of Different Mulching Materials for Potato Production

To determine the suitability of different mulching materials for improving the yield of potato,a field experiment was conducted from January 2020 to May 2020 at Kavrepalanchowk, Nepal. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five treatments including: T1: silver plastic mulch, T2: black plastic mulch, T3: perforated black plastic mulch, T4: straw mulch, and T5: Control, with four replications. The experiment revealed that the highest tuber yield was obtained in silver plastic mulch (42.29tonne/ha) followed by perforated black plastic (41.04tonne/ha), black plastic (39.17tonne/ha), and straw (28.54tonne/ha) mulches, and the lowest yield was obtained in the Control treatment (21.46tonne/ha). Soil temperature was found to be influenced by the use of mulching materials with the highest soil temperature recorded under black plastic mulch, whereas the lowest soil temperature was detected under the Control treatment. The economic analysis of using different mulching materials showed the highest benefit/cost ratio by silver plastic mulch (3.63); followed by perforated black plastic mulch (3.53) and the lowest benefit/cost ratio was calculated for the Control (2.60). The present study, therefore, depicted silver plastic mulch followed by perforated black plastic mulch as the most effective mulching material for improving production of potato.