Influence of soil mulches and method of crop establishment on growth and yields of pumpkins (1997-1998) - 4 pages Can. J. Plant Sci. 80: 385–388.
Waterer, D. 2000. Influence of soil mulches and method of crop establishment on growth and yields of pumpkins. Can. J. Plant Sci. 80: 385–388. Management methods that speed crop establishment, growth and maturity are essential to the efficient production of warm-season vegetable crops in regions with short, cool growing seasons. This study examined the influence of method of crop establishment and the use of plastic soil mulches on yields and crop maturity of two cultivars of pumpkins over two cropping seasons in central Saskatchewan. Transplanting did not improve stand establishment over direct seeding but enhanced yields without influencing crop maturity. Plastic mulches improved stand establishment and fruit yields relative to a non-mulched control.
Clear mulch was superior to black plastic in some cases. Both cropping seasons were unusually favourable for pumpkin production, which may have obscured the benefits expected for transplanting or mulching.
Keywords: Pumpkins, Cucumis pepo, seeding, transplanting, mulches, maturity, yields
