Luis Ibarra Jiménez, M.R. Quezada, J. Munguía, and B. Cedeño
Centro de Investigación en Química Aplicada.
Saltillo, Coahuila, México

 Keywords:  temperature, stomatal conductance, transpiration, Solanum tuberosum.

Abstract  To determine the effectiveness of plastic mulch on photosynthetic rate, growth, and yield of potato plants, plastic mulch treatments were established in a randomized complete block design with four replications: a) bare soil (Control), b) black,  c) brown, d) white / black  (BW), d) white, and e) Silver. For the plants grown in mulched treatments, the dry weight of leaves and dry weight of plant 45, 60 and 75 days after seeding (days) were different (p<0.05). Yields of mulch treatments white/black, silver and white were 11, 5, and 5 t ha^-1 higher than the control, respectively, which yielded 18 t ha^-1, similar yields than the control were obtained with black and brown mulch treatments. The excessive heat generated with those materials limited the increase in yield. Photosynthesis and transpiration apparent was increased by soil mulch effect (p<0.05). Dry weight of plants may explain the changes in yield. Stomatal conductance may explain, in part, the increase in photosynthetic rate but may not explain yield increase.

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