Soil and Plant Nutrient Status as Modified by Different Types of Mulching in Cauliflower

Mulching is a surface management practice that improves soil environment. A field experiment was conducted on sandy loam soil in mid hills of Himachal Pradesh, India to evaluate the effect of different types of mulch on plant available nutrients and total nutrient contents in cauliflower crop. In two years (2010 & 2011) of experiment four types of mulching material i.e., black plastic mulch (BPM), grass mulch (GM), pine needle mulch (PNM) and no-mulch (NM) were used in RBD with three replications. After completion of two years of experiment the practice of mulching significantly increased the soil organic carbon (SOC) as well as available nutrients (N, P, K, Ca & SO42--S) as compared to NM. However, the higher content of SOC was found in organic mulching (GM & PNM) and the highest content of available nutrients was observed in BPM followed by PNM, GM and NM. Concentration of N, K and Ca nutrient in plant was significantly influenced by mulching treatments while the highest concentration of nutrients was estimated in BPN followed by PNM, GM and NM. Thus, practice of mulching could be the better option for improving the nutrient status in soil as well as plant for improvement of quality and quantity of cauliflower crop in mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh.