Impact of Manure and Mulching Under Drip Irrigation on Salinity and Tomato Yield in Coastal Saline Soil

P.B. VANAVE; S.S. KHOBRAGADE; M.R. WAHANE; K.B. BHANGARE; M.J. KALEDHONKAR; R.L. MEENA; B.L. MEENA; S. KUMAR; S.B. DODAKE; K.P. VAIDYA

doi:10.54894/JISCAR.44.1.2026.172048

Authors

P.B. VANAVE Khar Land Research Station, Dr. B.S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Panvel, Raigad- 410 206, Maharashtra, India
S.S. KHOBRAGADE Khar Land Research Station, Dr. B.S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Panvel, Raigad- 410 206, Maharashtra, India
M.R. WAHANE Khar Land Research Station, Dr. B.S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Panvel, Raigad- 410 206, Maharashtra, India
K.B. BHANGARE Khar Land Research Station, Dr. B.S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Panvel, Raigad- 410 206, Maharashtra, India
M.J. KALEDHONKAR ICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal - 132 001, Haryana, India
R.L. MEENA ICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal - 132 001, Haryana, India
B.L. MEENA ICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal - 132 001, Haryana, India
S. KUMAR ICAR- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal - 132 001, Haryana, India
S.B. DODAKE Khar Land Research Station, Dr. B.S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Panvel, Raigad- 410 206, Maharashtra, India
K.P. VAIDYA Khar Land Research Station, Dr. B.S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Panvel, Raigad- 410 206, Maharashtra, India

https://doi.org/10.54894/JISCAR.44.1.2026.172048

Keywords:

Coastal Salinity, Mulch, Organic manures, Tomato yield

Abstract

Field experiments spanning three consecutive Rabi seasons (2019-20 to 2021-22) were carried out to assess the effects of different manures (no manure, farmyard manure (FYM), and vermicompost) and mulches (without mulch, plastic mulch, and paddy straw mulch) on soil salinity and tomato yield utilizing drip irrigation at the Khar Land Research Station, Panvel, Maharashtra. The results showed a notable reduction in soil salinity when using FYM at 7.5 t ha^-1 with vermicompost at 2.5 t ha^-1 (2.54, 3.36 dS m^-1) and plastic mulch (1.25, 2.75 dS m^-1 ) at 30 and 90 days, respectively after transplanting of tomato over initial salinity (6.35 dS m^-1). Among mulches, plastic mulch recorded the lowest salinity (1.25 and 2.75 dS m^-1), while the combination of paddy straw mulch with FYM + vermicompost reduced salinity to 1.09-2.56 dS m^-1. A significantly higher yield of tomato fruit (19.89 t ha^-1) was achieved with the application of FYM at 7.5 t ha^-1 and vermicompost at 2.5 t ha^-1 compared to the no-manure application (10.12 t ha^-1). The use of paddy straw mulch alone resulted in a higher tomato yield (20.44 t ha^-1) compared to no mulching (9.76 t ha^-1). In addition, it was observed that the combination of FYM at 7.5 t ha^-1 and vermicompost at 2.5 t ha^-1, along with paddy straw mulch, achieved the highest yield of 25.44 t ha^-1 with maximum benefit-cost ratio of 1.45 outperforming all other treatments followed by application of FYM at 15 t ha^-1 with paddy straw mulch yielded 23.20 t ha^-1. The study indicates that blending organic manures with paddy straw mulch under drip irrigation is an effective and economical strategy for enhancing tomato productivity and managing coastal saline soils.

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