Mulching-Induced Improvement in Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality and Profitability of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under Lateritic Soil Conditions of Eastern India

Abstract

Background: Tomato productivity in lateritic soils is constrained by low moisture retention and limited nutrient availability. Aims: The study aims to evaluate the effects of straw and polyethylene mulches on the growth, flowering, yield, fruit quality, and economics of two tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) varieties under the lateritic conditions of West Bengal. Study Design: Factorial randomized block design. Place and Duration of Study: Experimental Field, Midnapore City College, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India, during the rabi season of 2023–2024. Methodology: The experiment comprised two tomato varieties (PKM-1 and S-22) and five mulching treatments: control, rice straw mulch, black polyethylene mulch, white polyethylene mulch, and red polyethylene mulch, with three replications. Growth, flowering, yield, fruit quality (vitamin C and vitamin A), and economic parameters were recorded using standard procedures. Correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationships between fruit yield and its contributing traits. Results: Tomato variety, mulching material, and their interaction significantly (P < 0.05) influenced growth, yield, fruit quality, and economic parameters. Among the varieties, S-22 recorded greater plant height (83.98 cm), more effective branches (9.23 plant⁻¹), more fruits per plant (67.20), a higher fruit yield (27.66 t ha⁻¹; 9.82% higher than PKM-1), and a higher vitamin C content than PKM-1. Among the mulching treatments, black polyethylene mulch produced the greatest plant height (87.60 cm), number of effective branches (14.51 plant⁻¹), number of fruits per plant (81.50), individual fruit weight (25.50 g), fruit yield (32.34 t ha⁻¹; 60.41% higher than the control), net return (₹17,458 ha⁻¹), and benefit:cost ratio (1.04). The S-22 × black polyethylene mulch interaction recorded the highest fruit yield (34.20 t ha⁻¹; 78.20% higher than PKM-1 without mulch). Correlation analysis showed that fruit number had a stronger association with fruit yield (R² = 0.880) than individual fruit weight (R² = 0.735). Conclusion: The combination of S-22 and black polyethylene mulch was the most effective for improving tomato growth, yield, fruit quality, and profitability under the lateritic conditions of eastern India. Further multi-season and multi-location studies are needed to validate these findings.