The effect of mulching and staking on the development of early and late blights of tomato
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Date
1998
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
The effect of mUlching and staking on the development of early and late leaf blight of tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum (Mill))ยท caused by Alternaria solani (Ell. & Md.rt.) and
Phythophthora injestans (Mont.), respectively, were studied using a randomized complete
block design replicatedfour times. Mulching and staking significantly (P = 0.05) reduced the
incidence of early and late blights by 5 to 20% and increased fruit yield more t~an two folds
compared to unmUlched and unstaked controls. The apparent rate of infection of the two
pathogens was also significantly lower (P = 0.05) in mulched and staked tomato than in the
controls. Mulching was more effective than staking in suppressing early and late blight diseases
in tomato. Mulching and staking when combined significantly (P = 0.05) reduced the
incidence of the two diseases' by 20% compared to when the two practices were used separately.
Description
Keywords
Mulching, Staking, Alternaria solani, Phytophthora injestans, Lycopefsicon esculentum