Effect of Transparent Poly Ethylene Mulch on Production and Water Use Efficiency of Hull-Less Seed Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) under Different Levels of Moisture

آب و خاک

Article 8, Volume 31, Issue 6 - Serial Number 56, January 2018, Pages 1679-1690   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jsw.v31i6.66296

Authors

Marjan Nekokhoo; Seyfollah Fallah^* ; Rahim Barzegar

Shahrekord University

Abstract

Introduction: Water resources are very limited for agricultural production. Therefore, optimal use of available water resources and increased water use efficiency in agriculture are necessary. Application of poly ethylene mulch is one of the approaches that can be effective in increasing water use efficiency. The water deficient trend is increasing in agricultural lands of the Iran and, on the other hand, the yield components of hull-less seed pumpkin are sensitive to drought stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of transparent polyethylene mulch on the performance and water use efficiency of hull-less seed pumpkin under different irrigation rates.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was carried out in the central part of Isfahan, Northern Baraan (320 and 32/N, 510 and 52/ E, and 1534 m above sea level) in a randomized complete block design with three replications, during 2016. Treatments consisted of full irrigation+ poly ethylene mulch (M+FW), 0.75% full irrigation+ poly ethylene mulch (M+0.75FW), 0.50% full irrigation+ poly ethylene mulch (M+0.5 FW), and full irrigation without mulch (FW). In April, the cultivation operations include mechanical planting, mulch were done. The spacing of the rows was 150 cm and the spacing between plants was 70 cm. The irrigation was applied until the plant was fully established and then drought stress was begun based on above irrigation treatments. The studied traits were number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight (kg), fruit yield (ton ha-1), number of seeds per fruit, fruit diameter (cm), 1000 grains weight (g), grain yield (kg ha-1), water use efficiency (kg m-3), oil content (%) and oil yield (kg ha-1). Statistical analysis was performed using SAS software and comparisons of the means were made using the least significant difference (LSD) test at the 5% probability level.
Results and Discussion: The highest number of fruits per plant belonged to M+FW treatment (with an average of 3.22) and the lowest was recorded in M+0.5FW treatment (with an average of 2.44). This difference between treatment FW and M+0.75FW can be due to the high moisture under the poly ethylene mulch. The highest fruit weight (3.60 kg) was obtained in M+FW treatments, which had a significant difference with other treatments. The difference weight of fruit in M + FW treatment was 14% compared to FW irrigation treatments. The highest fruit yield (95.72 ton ha-1) belonged to M+FW treatment and the lowest one (79.78) belonged to M+0.5FW treatment. The difference in fruit yield in M+0.75FW compared to FW treatment was 6%, but it was not significant. The number of seeds per fruit in M+0.75FW compared to FW and M+0.5FW treatments showed a difference of 13% and 17%, respectively which they were significant only with M+0.5FW treatment. With increasing drought stress, the amount of photosynthetic assimilate decreased, which reduced the number of seeds per fruit. The highest 1000 grains weight (173.13 g) belonged to M+FW treatment and the lowest one belonged to M+0.5FW (156.18 g). 1000 seeds weight in FW treatment was not significant compared to M+0.75FW treatment. Drought stress during plant development decreased the leaf area index in the plant. Application of plastic mulch reduces the effect of drought stress on leaf growth and its photosynthesis by decreasing water loss by evapotranspiration and transpiration. The difference grain yield between two treatments M+0.75FW with FW was 7% and this difference was not significant. Only significant difference was observed among M+0.5FW treatment with other treatments. The effect of different levels of moisture on water use efficiency was significant at 1% probability level. The highest water use efficiency was recorded in M+0.5FW treatment and the lowest was recorded in FW treatment. The difference in water use efficiency between M+0.75FW with full irrigation (FW) was 0.99 kg m-3, which was significant. Difference in water use efficiency between M+FW and FW was not significant for water use efficiency. The use of plastic mulch reduced water loss throughout the plant growth period and significantly increased water use efficiency. There was a significant difference among M+FW, M+0.75FW and FW for oil content. The highest and lowest oil contents belonged to M+FW and M+0.5FW, respectively. The maximum oil yield (558 kg ha-1) belonged to M+FW and the lowest one (412 kg ha-1) was obtained in M+0.5FW.
Conclusion: Transparent plastic mulch under water stress conditions can reduce the effect of drought stress on hull-less seed pumpkin by preserving water and other beneficial effects, including weeds reduction. Therefore, the use of this type of mulch is recommended for the cultivation of hull-less seed pumpkin in the central areas of the country facing the water crisis.

Keywords

Fruit; Irrigation; Oil; Plasticulture

References

1- Abbasi H., Agha-Alikhani M., and Hamzei J. 2017. Effect of irrigation iIntervals, black plastic mulch and biofertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.). Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research, 15:392-412. (In Persian).

2- Abd El-Mageed T.A., Semida W.M., and Abd El-Wahed M.H. 2016. Effect of mulching on plant water status, soil salinity and yield of squash under summer-fall deficit irrigation in salt affected soil. Agricultural Water Management, 173:1-12.

3- Abraham, N.A. 2001. Determinants of Sunflower seed quality for processing (growth and development of the seed (Chapter 1). University of Pretoria, Pp. 22.

4- Afshar H., Sadrghaen S.H., and Mehrabadi H.R. 2013. Evaluation of application of plastic mulch on water used and seed cotton yield. Journal of Water and Soil, 26:1421-1427. (In Persian).

5- Ekinci M., and Dursan A. 2009. Effect of different mulch materials on plant growth, some quality parameters and yield in melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars in high altitude environmental condition. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 41:1891-1901.

6- FAO. 1998. Crop Evapotranspiration guidelines for computing crop water requirements. Department of Natural Resourees Management and Environment. http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0490e/x0490e0e.htm.

7- Farhadi A. 2003. Investigation of the application of poly ethylen mulch and irrigation methods to reduce water and sand consumption in vegetables. 8th Congress on Irrigation and Evaporation Reduction, 7 to 8 February, Bahenar University of Kerman. (In Persian).

8- Hamzaei J., and Babaei M. 2015. Effect of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizing on phenology, grain and oil yield of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) in Hamadan region. Journal of Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production. 25(2): 1-13. (In Persian).

9- Jafari P., Molla-Hosseini H., and Silispour M. 2007. Investigation effect of cantaloupe planting pattern in two methods of traditional and use mulch. Journal of Research in Agricultural Science, 2(2): 61-71. (In Persian).

10- Kasirajan S., and Ngouajio M. 2012. Polyethylene and biodegradable mulches for agricultural application: a review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 32: 501-529.

11- Koocheki A, and Sarmadnia G.1997. Physiology of Crop Plants (Translation). Jahadeh Daneshgahi Press, Mashhad. 400p. (In Persian).

12- Maged A.E. 2006. Effect of mulch types on soil environmental conditions and their effect on the growth and yield of cucumber plants. Journal Applied Science Research, 2(2): 67-73.

13- Naser-Esfahani M. 1996. Investigation of control possibility of several important diseases in cucumber field by solarization. 1th Congress of Horticulture Sciences, Karaj, Iran. Pp:24-27. (In Persian).

14- Nazemi A., Khazaei H., Boromand R., Rezazadeh Z., and Hosseini A. 2008. Effect of drought stress and defoliation on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in controlled conditions. Desert, 12: 99-104.

15- Norjoo A., Hanareh M., and Hatami S. 2010. Effect of black polyethylene mulch on quantity of tomato and water use effeciency. Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage, 4:242-250. (In Persian).

16- SAS Institute Inc. 2002. The SAS System for Windows, Release 9.1 Statistical Analysis Systems Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA.

17- Simsek M., and Comlekcioglu N. 2011. Effects of different irrigation regimes and nitrogen levels on yield and quality of melon (Cucumis melo L.). African Journal of Biology, 10:10009-10018.

18- Vaziri Zh., Salamat A.R., Entesari M.R., Maschi M., Heidari N., Dehghani Sanich H. 2008. Evaporation and Transpiration of Plants (Instructions for Calculating Water Requirements for Plants). Iranian Irrigation and Drainage Committee, 389p. (In Persian).

19- Wagner F. 2000. The health value of styrian pumpkin-seed oil-science and fiction. In Proceeding 1th International Oil Pumpkin Conference. 9th-13th Augst, Lower. Australia. Pp.122-123.

20- Yaghi T., Arslan A., and Naoum F. 2013. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) water use efficiency (WUE) under plastic mulch and drip irrigation. Agricultural Water Management, 128: 149-157.

21- Zhao H., Xiong Y-C., Li F-M., Wang R-Y., Qiang Sh-C., Yao T-F., and Mo F. 2012. Plastic film mulch for half growing-season maximized WUE and yield of potato via moisture-temperature improvement in a semi-arid agroecosystem. Agricultural Water Management, 104: 68-78.