the effect of mulch on weed dry weight and soil humidity and temperature in pepino (solanum muricatum)

pepino (solanum muricatum), a new vegetable crops, is from solanaceae family and cultivated as annual crops. in order to investigate the effects of mulch on weed dry weight in pepino and soil humidity and temperature, an experiment was conducted based on randomized completely design with three replication at the ferdowsi university of mashhad green house, during 2009. treatments included rice straw mulch, wood chips mulch and control. sampling was recorded at four stages. the result indicated that the effect of mulch was significant (p<0.01) on weed dry weights. the highest and the lowest of weed dry weight were achieved in control and woody chips, respectively .mulching caused decrease of soil temperature and increase of soil humidity and also decrease of weeds. wood chips successfully decreased soil temperature and increased soil humidity compared to rice straw mulch and control.