Effects of irrigation and mulching on shoot and root growth of avocado (<i>Persea americana</i>Mill.) and mango (<i>Mangifera indica</i>L.)

Abstract

SummaryAn 8 cm-thick mulch significantly increased shoot growth of young cv Pollock avocado plants in wet and dry seasons and of young cv Julie mango plants in the wet season, but had little effect on the root growth of either species. Mulching also limited weed growth and daily fluctuations in soil temperature, conserved soil moisture, improved soil physical properties (bulk density, porosity and infiltration rate) and promoted vigorous rooting on the soil surface under the mulch. Irrigation during the dry season did not significantly increase shoot or root growth of either species but the increases due to irrigation were apparently greater than those due to mulching.