EFFECT of COLOR of PLASTIC MULCHING and ORGANIC MULCHING ON the YIELD COMPONENTS and QUALITY of WATERMELON (Citrullus lanatus Schard.) CV. ROYAL FLUSH

Mexico contributes with about 1.41% of the world horticultural production. it is located in the sixth place as exporting country. Horticultural cultivation in Mexico has been increased about 80% of the acreage destined to new technologies, such as plastic mulching as an alternative to handle the environmental conditions, to improve the development, to make use of the inputs, to control the plant sanitary problems, and to increase the yield and quality of watermelon in horticultural areas of our country.  There is an impressive diversity of colors and thickness of plastic mulches used for agricultural purposes. The aim was to evaluate the effect of color mulching and organic mulching on the yield and quality of watermelon fresh production. The colored plastic mulches were transparent, black, white, brown, aluminum/black, black/aluminum; and rice straw was used as organic mulch, and bare soil as control. The treatments were arranged in a Completed randomized blocks design with four replications. The data were analyzed by ANOVA and means separated by Tukey test (P =0.05). Significant differences were obtained in the variables days to blooming and number of fruits (Pr. 0.029). White and aluminum/black mulches showed the latest blooming dates with 57, and 57.7 days, they also showed 11.3, and 12 fruits per plant, respectively. In the variables fresh fruit and yield per plot significant differences were obtained (Pr. 0.0001), the aluminum/black mulching produced the higher fruit weight with 5.8 Kg. The higher yields per plot were obtained with the mulchings aluminum/black and white with 195.7, and 198.7 Kg, respectively. The higher values in °Brix were obtained with the white and brown mulchings with 9.8°. The bare soil showed the lowest values in all variables studied.  A slightly difference was obtained with the organic mulching in comparison to the bare soil. In conclusion, the color of plastic mulching affected the plant and yield components in watermelon; the fruit sugar content was similar in all the treatments. The mulching colors aluminum/black and White showed the best fresh fruit yields.