The effect of mulch on morphological and agronomic traits of kohlrabi cultivars

Considering its short vegetation period, kohlrabi is a vegetable species suitable as an intercrop in crop rotation. Application of mulch in kohlrabi production can provide a favourable microenvironment for development of plants. Research with the aim to determine the effect of mulch, compared to the bare soil, on morphological and agronomic traits of newer kohlrabi cultivars was set up during spring growing period. Five kohlrabi cultivars ('Timpano', 'Olivia', 'Opimes', 'Opus', 'Octave') and three mulches (bare soil, black and white PE-film) were tested in two factorial experiment set up according to split-plot method. In the single harvest, cultivar 'Timpano' grown on black PE-film had the highest share of marketable plants (100%) while the share of unmarketable plants varied from 3% ('Olivia') to 39% ('Opimes'). The highest diameter of swollen stems had cultivar 'Timpano' both on white and black PE-film (80 and 82 mm). Mass of swollen stem varied from 321 ('Octave') to 379 g ('Timpano'). Marketable yield was determined in range from 2.68 (uncovered soil) to 3.84 kg m^-2 (black PE-film). Depending on the combination of cultivar and mulch, cultivar 'Timpano' on black PE-film obtained the highest yield of swollen stem (4.85 kg m^-2) while the lowest yield was recorded at cultivar 'Opimes' grown on uncovered soil (1.91 kg m^-2). Cultivars 'Timpano' and 'Olivia' grown on black PE-film could be recommended for kohlrabi production in spring growing period.