Effect of Mulching Materials on Soil Health, Yield and Quality Attributes of Broccoli Grown Under the Mid-Hill Conditions

Broccoli is an important cole crop, grown widely in the North Eastern states of India. The deficiency of soil moisture in mid-hills is one of the most limiting factors affecting the production and productivity of the crops. To evaluate the effect of different mulching materials on soil environment, productivity and quality aspect of broccoli (Hybrid Puspa), the experiment was conducted for three years during 2013–2016. Among the treatments, highest photosynthetic rate (34.81 mmol m−2 s−1), transpiration rate (7.86 mmol m−2 s−1), stomatal conductance (180.08 mmol m−2s−1), low intercellular CO2 concentration (50.06 ppm), highest chlorophyll a (0.25 g kg−1), b (0.06 g kg−1) and a/b ratio (4.31) as well as anthocyanin content (0.62 mg g−1) was recorded from the treatment T3 (Dry weed biomass mulch of Eupatorium and Ambrosia spp. @1 kg m−2 area). Similarly, treatment T3 was also found to be superior for the number of leaves, leaf length, leaf weight, stalk length and weight, head length and diameter. The highest marketable head yield (22.75 t ha−1) was in T3 mulch and it was 57% higher over the control. Poly mulch has shown the higher soil moisture and temperature throughout growing period. The highest available nutrients such as soil organic carbon and NPK content were observed in poly mulch. For quality traits such as dry matter, total sugar, β-carotene and vitamin-C content, the control was superior. It was observed that, mulching has positive effect on the yield as well as quality and available biomass in this region can be a better alternative for the resource poor farmers of this region. © 2017, The National Academy of Sciences, India.