Changes in soil temperature, yield and photosynthetic response of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) under coloured plastic mulch

The adverse effect of soil temperature under plastic Mulch oil potato crop is well documented. The use of plastic mulch of diverse colours Could help in understanding the effect of soil temperature in potato yield. therefore, six treatments were established ill a randomised complete block design with 4 replications: i) bare soil (Control), ii) black polyethylene, iii) brown polyethylene, iv) white-on-black polyethylene, v) white polyethylene, and vi) silver-on-black polyethylene. The yield of plants grown on white-on-black. silver-on-black, and white plastic mulch treatments were 11, 5, and 5 t/ha higher (p <= 0.05) than the Control, respectively. No difference in plant yield was observed among, black and brown plastic mulch and the Control. and the excessive soil temperature generated by the black and brown polyethylene may be the reason for this. The net photosynthesis rate was not affected by the plastic Mulch. and it diminished as the growing season advanced.