Studies to evaluate the response of passion fruit seedlings in terms of emergence, nursery, and early field growth to growing media and mulching were carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi between July and December 2018. Treatments consisted of five media, composted from readily available substrates. The five nursery media were; medium 1:1:2:3 (SB) composed of top soil + poultry manure + river sand; medium 2:1:2:3 (RHB) – rice hull + poultry manure + river sand; medium 3:2:3:1 (RHB) – rice hull + poultry manure + river sand; medium 4:1:4:3 (SDB) – sawdust + poultry manure + river sand and medium 5:1:2:3 (SDB) – sawdust + poultry manure + river sand. For the nursery experiment, treatments were the five potting media, while the field trial was a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of the five growing media and mulching status (mulch and no mulch). In both cases, treatments were laid out in randomized designs that were replicated three times. Results showed that there were no significant differences in all the emergence traits evaluated. However, medium M5 (sawdust based) showed superior performance in most of the seedling characters evaluated. Under field conditions, the sawdust based media (M4 and M5) gave the best growth of passion fruit seedlings compared to the other potting media. Application of mulch, however, did not elicit any significant response in plant growth. It is therefore conclusive that sawdust based growing media could be used to produce high quality passion fruit seedlings with the prospect of excellent performance under field conditions.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is the main leafy vegetable grown in Brazil. Its productivity and quality are limited by the growing season, the nearby environment and the type of cultivar adopted. The objective of this work was to verify at different times of the year the best planting environment for lettuce cultivation in a semi-humid tropical climate. For this purpose, an experiment was set up in three different seasons (October–November 2014, January–March, May–July 2015). The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a 3 × 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, consisting of three seasons, three cultivars (cvs. Vera^®, Tainá^® and Rafaela^®) and two growing environments (low tunnel with beds protected with mulching consisting of soil protection with plastic fabric covering, and beds without protection or conventional cultivation) and four replicates per treatment. Plant biomass, stem length, head diameter, number of leaves per head and crop productivity were evaluated as response parameters. The results showed that the May–July period favored biomass production, head diameter and productivity. Despite the similarity between varieties, the variety Vera^® is more productive in biomass, number of leaves per head, stem length and productivity. The low tunnel planting system with mulching is adequate under the conditions evaluated for lettuce cultivation. This system in the May–July period favors a superior development in the characteristics biomass, head diameter and productivity, if compared to conventional cultivation during the October–November period.

Bangladesh’s coastal regions are rich in saline water resources. The majority of these resources are still not being used to their full potential. In the southern Bangladeshi region of Patuakhali, research was conducted to investigate the effects of mulching and drip irrigation on tomato yield, quality, and blossom-end rot (BER) at different soil salinity thresholds. There were four distinct treatments applied: T₁= drip irrigation with polythene mulch, T₂ = drip irrigation with straw mulch, T₃ = drip irrigation without mulch, and T₄ = standard procedure. While soil salinity was much greater in treatment T₃ (1.19–8.42 dS/m) fallowed by T₄ (1.23–8.63 dS/m), T1 treatments had the lowest level of salinity and the highest moisture retention during every development stage of the crops, ranging from 1.28–4.29 dS/m. Treatment T₃ exhibited the highest soil salinity levels (ranging from 1.19 to 8.42 dS/m), followed by T₄ with a range of 1.23 to 8.63 dS/m. In contrast, T₁ treatments consistently maintained the lowest salinity levels (ranging from 1.28 to 4.29 dS/m) and the highest moisture retention throughout all stages of crop development. In terms of yield, drip irrigation with no mulch treatment (T₃) provided the lowest output (13.37 t/ha), whereas polyethylene mulching treatment (T₁) produced the maximum yield (46.04 t/ha). According to the study, conserving moisture in tomato fields and reducing soil salinity may both be achieved with drip irrigation combined with polythene mulch. The research suggests that employing drip irrigation in conjunction with polythene mulch could effectively preserve moisture in tomato fields and concurrently decrease soil salinity.