Effect of Mulching Materials on Weed Intensity Under Two Tomato Cultivars in Bungoma, Kenya

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the main vegetables cultivated in Western Kenya by small scale farmers. It is grown as subsistence and cash crop, thus creates employment that generates household incomes and improves the farmers' living standards. Tomato yield is below potential in Western Kenya¬, which can be attributed to myriad challenges that farmers encounter during production. Among the notable bottlenecks is invasive weeds that compete with tomato for nutrients and space, besides being alternate hosts of virulent pests and diseases. The aim of this research was to investigate the efficacy of different mulching materials on growth intensity of weeds in tomato fields in Western Kenya. Field trials were carried out in 2015 and 2016 in short and long rainfall periods, respectively. The experiments were set up in Randomized Complete Block Design under split-plot layout, and replicated four times. Two tomato varieties, Tylka F1 (semi-determinate) and Cal J (Determinate) were sown on soil beds covered with different mulching matter, thus; black polythene paper, no mulch, and transparent polythene film and sugarcane trash. Data was collected from two 50cm × 50cm quadrates randomly laid per plot, on weed fresh and dry weights. The data was run for analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS software and means were separated at α=0.05, using Fischer's Protected LSD. The results indicated that, mulching significantly influenced (p<0.001) the weight of weeds in both seasons. Both fresh and dry weeds weighed more (522g) and (36.5g) respectively for non-mulch treatment compared to mulched treatments in the short rain season. The same observation was made during long rain season in both tomato varieties (P<0.001). The study concludes that mulching with both organic and non-organic materials reduce weed intensity, and recommends mulching in open field tomato production to control weeds