Effect of Mulching on Some Characteristics of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) under Deficit Irrigation

The aim of the study was to evaluate the sole and interactive effect of drip irrigation regimes (50, 70, and 100% of Crop Water Requirement, CWR) and different mulches [No Mulch (NM); Mood Chip Mulch (WCM); Composted Wood Chip Mulch (CWCM), and Plastic Mulch (PM)] on some morphological and physiological traits of tomato, Water Use Efficiency (WUE), and soil properties (soil moisture and temperature) under field conditions. Results showed that yield and its components were significantly influenced by different levels of irrigation. Different mulches increased fruit yield by 12–46% over non-mulch conditions. The highest marketable yield (5.78 kg plant -1) and total yield (5.77 kg plant -1) were obtained by the plants under the highest water level (100% CWR) along with PM and WCM, respectively. The lowest percentage of cracked fruits and blossom-end rot fruits was observed in the plants under 100 and 70% CWR along with WCM. In addition, the highest WUE (18.27 kg m-3) was obtained with 70% water application under WCM. In general, the study revealed that drip irrigation with wood chip mulch had a significant role in increasing the yield of tomato and saving irrigation water under field conditions.