The Influence of Different Mulching on the Productivity of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

The study entitled “The Influence of Different Mulching Materials to Soil Physical Properties and on the Growth and Development of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) was conducted at the Western Mindanao State University, College of Agriculture, San Ramon, Zamboanga City. The objectives of the study were: 1.) To evaluate the effect of different mulching materials on the growth and yield of leaf lettuce, 2.) To determine the influence of different mulching materials on the soil's physical properties and with a general objective of determining what kind of mulching material would give a good response to the growth and development of leaf lettuce and which one would improve the soil's physical properties. The study was carried out in Complete Randomized Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments and replicated three times. Treatments were as follows: T1 – No mulch, T2– Polyethylene black sheet, T3 – Rice Straw, and T4 – Nipa Leaves. The parameters used to determine the effect of the different treatments were; plant height, the average number of leaves, leaf area index, average yield per plot, soil temperature, soil moisture, weed growth magnitude, and earthworm count. The plant height, average number of leaves, leaf area index, and average yield per plot of lettuce show no significant difference, suggesting that the different mulching materials did not influence the growth of lettuce The soil moisture content as influenced by the different mulches was significant. Nipa leaves followed by rice straw have the highest soil moisture content among the different treatments. It is suggesting that organic mulch is efficient in conserving water. The weed growth magnitude as influenced by the different mulches was highly significant. The lowest number of weeds was recorded in the polyethylene black sheet followed by the nipa leaves. The result proved that plastic mulch is effective in suppressing weed growth. The earthworm count found in the different mulching materials was significant; the highest count was found in control and organic mulches