Effect of Mulching on Soil Moisture Conservation and Yield of Tomato in Kaduna State

This study examines the effect of different mulching materials on soil moisture conservation and fruit yield of tomato in Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. Tomato production in Kaduna State is constrained by water stress during the dry season and rapid soil moisture depletion during the rainy season dry spells. Mulching conserves soil moisture by reducing evaporation, moderating soil temperature, and suppressing weed competition, offering a low-cost management strategy accessible to smallholder farmers. This study establishes a randomised complete block design field experiment at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria research farm, comparing five mulching treatments: no mulch control, dry grass mulch at 5 tonnes per hectare, rice straw mulch at 5 tonnes per hectare, black polythene mulch, and gravel mulch. Soil moisture content at 10 and 20 centimetre depths, soil temperature, weed dry weight, and marketable tomato fruit yield are measured over one dry season cropping period. Findings reveal that black polythene mulch achieves the highest fruit yield of 28.4 tonnes per hectare and the lowest soil moisture loss, maintaining soil moisture 34 percent above the unmulched control. Rice straw mulch achieves the lowest soil temperature and strong weed suppression. The no-mulch control shows the lowest yield at 14.2 tonnes per hectare. The study concludes that mulching significantly improves tomato productivity in Kaduna State, with black polythene mulch offering the strongest yield response. It recommends rice straw mulch as a locally available and affordable alternative for smallholder tomato producers.

Keywords: mulching, soil moisture, tomato yield, Kaduna State, water conservation.