Effect of irrigation systems and mulching on soil temperature and fruit yield of marrow (Cucurbita pepo) in temperate Himalaya of Uttarakhand

Abstract

Present investigation was conducted in the vegetable research block of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri, Tehri- Garhwal, Uttarakhand during summer seasons 2013 and 2014. The experiments were conducted with Bulam House F1 hybrid of marrow (Cucurbita pepo) under two irrigation systems, drip and basin and by application of three types of mulch materials viz., black polythene (100 μm), white polythene (100μm) and dried grass mulching of 10 cm thickness applied @ 10.0 t/ha alongwith plots having no mulching i.e. bared soil. The experiments were laid out in two factors RBD with five replications. Results indicated that drip irrigation was consistently superior in relation to fruit yield (694.1 q/ha) over traditional system of basin irrigation (594.5 q/ha) in squash or marrow over two years. Mulch application resulted in 44.9-47.2% increase in fruit yield over the unmulched crop. Higher and at par fruit yield was realized by application of dried grass (705.1 q/ha) and black polythene mulches (704.9 q/ha). The interaction two  treatment combinations indicated that black and white polythene mulches accompanied with drip irrigation exhibited high and at par fruit yield in marrow (C. pepo) over the years (797.6 q/ha and 788.5 q/ha, respectively) in the temperate hills of Uttarakhand Himalaya