Effect of Mulching on Growth, Yield and Quality in Different Varieties of Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.)

With rewarding possibilities of mulching in enhancing crop growth, present investigations were carried out in summer squash to investigate the effect of mulching on growth, yield and quality parameters in different varieties. The experiment was conducted with twenty different treatment combinations involving five different mulch materials (black plastic mulch, blue plastic mulch, transparent mulch, rice straw mulch and control) and four different varieties of summer squash (Arpit, Surya, Pratap and Desi) following Split Plot Design with three replications. From the observations recorded, Black plastic mulch showed significant improvement in growth and yield of summer squash, while among the varieties “Surya” produced greater yield than others. Based upon the studies, it can be concluded that for commercial cultivation of summer squash, ‘Surya’ variety should be grown under black plastic mulch.