STUDY THE MOISTURE VARIABILITY OF OKRA CROP IN KHARIF SEASON WITH DIFFERENT MULCHING

K.D. GHARDE¹*, R.B. MAHSKE², S.P. PIMPALKAR³, S.S. IDATE^4
1Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, 444104, India
²Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, College of Agriculture Engineering & Technology, Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, 415712, Ratnagiri, India
³Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, College of Agriculture Engineering & Technology, Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, 415712, Ratnagiri, India
⁴Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, College of Agriculture Engineering & Technology, Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, 415712, Ratnagiri, India
* Corresponding Author : ghardek@rediffmail.com

Received : 01-05-2022     Accepted : 27-05-2022     Published : 30-05-2022
Volume : 14     Issue : 5       Pages : 11316 - 11319
Int J Agr Sci 14.5 (2022):11316-11319

Keywords : Soil Moisture, Kharif, Mulching, Yield
Academic Editor : S.M. Chavan, Dr Manoj Kundu
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Authors are thankful to Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, 444104, India. Authors are also thankful to Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, College of Agriculture Engineering & Technology, Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, 415712, Ratnagiri, India
Author Contribution : All authors equally contributed

The Konkan is hosted with abundant natural resources like vegetation, water and climatic conditions. The region received 40 percent of total rainfall of Maharashtra during monsoon season (average 3500mm) i.e., June to September month only. The heavy downpour rainfall during the growing season followed by sudden irregularity in rainfall reduced the yield of vegetable crops in the Kharif season. Considering the fact, the experiment was planned to study the effect of moisture variability on the yield of okra crops during Kharif season. Four different mulches viz., Black, Blue, Silver and White transparent of 25 Micron thicknesses were used. Okra seed were dibbled in paired row at the spacing of 45 cm x 45 cm. Each mulch was used 10 bed of length 18 m and of width 60 cm. The moisture retention period for black and silver mulches was recorded significantly higher compared to without mulches. The water retention increases by 10 to 15 days in all mulches compared to without mulches. The moisture depletion found to be faster in 0-15 cm depth followed by 15-30 and 35 to 45 cm. The moisture reached to wilting point within 5 days in without mulched plot whereas it retained for 10 days in black mulched plot, 9 days in silver mulched plot and 8 days in blue mulched plot as well as white mulched plot. The biometric observation for okra crops such height, stem diameter, leaves number, yield of the plant was significantly higher in blue mulched plot followed by black and silvered mulched plot. The yield of okra crops was 226.79 kg/ha, 207.83 kg/ha, 146.19 kg/ha and 100.9 kg/ ha and 132.05 kg/ha was recorded for blue, silver, black, white transparent and without mulched plot respectively

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