Review Article Volume 10 Issue 2 - October 2017 DOI: 10.19080/CTBEB.2017.10.555783 Curr Trends Biomedical Eng & Biosci Copyright © All rights are reserved by Tswanya MN Reponses of Tomato (Lycopersicon Lycopersicum Mill), Soil Temperature and Soil Moisture Content to Mulch Material and Mulching Rate in Ogbomoso and Mokwa, Nigeria Tswanya MN 1 *, Olaniyi JO 2 and Alamu LO 3 1 Biotechnology Advanced Research Centre, Nigeria 2 Department of Agronomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria 3 Department of Crop Production and Environmental Protection, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria Submission: August 27, 2017; Published: October 27, 2017 *Corresponding author: Tswanya MN, Biotechnology Advanced Research Centre, Sheda Science and Technology Complex, P.M.B. 186, Garki-Abuja, Nigeria, Email: Introduction Tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) belongs to the solanaceae family. It originated in Peru and Mexico, in the present day Central and South America from where it spread to other parts of the world [1]. Tomato reached Europe from Mexico in the 16th century, and was initially used as ornamental plant. Its cultivation for edible fruits started at the end of the 18th century. Tomato was introduced to West Africa and Nigeria in particular, at the end of the 19th century [2]. It is currently considered to be one of the main vegetable crops in the world, and constitutes an economic force that influences the income of many growers in the world [3]. In Nigeria tomato also finds its way into almost every kitchen. Tomato crop is very important in terms of diet and economy in Nigeria both during the rainy season (rainfed) and dry season using irrigation facilities. It is used as a condiment in stews and soup or eaten raw in salads. Industrially, the crop is made into puree, sauce, paste and powder [4]. Mulching is the process or practice of covering the soil/ ground to make more favorable conditions for plant growth, development and efficient crop production. Mulch technical term means ‘covering of soil’ [5]. While natural mulches such as leaf, straw, dead leaves and compost have been used for centuries, during the last 60 years the advent of synthetic materials has altered the methods and benefits of mulching. When compared to other mulches plastic mulches are completely impermeable to water; it therefore prevents direct evaporation of moisture from the soil and thus limits the water losses and soil erosion over the surface [6]. In this manner it plays a positive role in water conservation and the suppression of evaporation also has a supplementary effect; it prevents the rise of water containing salt, which is important in countries with high salt content water resources [7]. Mulching is a layer of material on the surface of the soil used to keep soil moist or to serve a wide variety of other purposes. Organic mulches are those derived from the dead plant and animal tissues, which apart from soil protection also serve as nutrient sources when they decay. Tomato plants subjected to Curr Trends Biomedical Eng & Biosci 10(2): CTBEB.MS.ID.555583 (2017) 0033 Abstract Field experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and Niger State College of Agriculture, Mokwa, in 2014 cropping season to examine the effects of mulch materials and mulching rates on fruit yield, soil temperature and soil moisture content of tomato variety. The experiment had fifteen treatments viz: three mulch materials (rice husk, ground- nut shell and dry guinea grass) and five mulching rates (0, 5, 10, 15, & 20 in t ha -1 ), replicated three times. The experiment was laid out as split plot arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design. Data were collected on plant height, number of flowers, number of fruits and total fruit yield. Two environmental factors (soil temperature and soil moisture content) were determined. Data was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) SAS package and treatment means compared using least significant difference (LSD) at 5% probability level. Mulching is beneficial to performance of tomato. Mulch types had no effect on fruit yield of tomato. Plants mulched with 15 t ha -1 produced the highest yield (23.30t ha -1 ) while control plots had the least value (8.13t ha -1 ). Soil temperature was best at mulching rate of 15t ha -1 and soil moisture content was at 20t ha -1 . It could be concluded that mulching is beneficial to tomato production; mulch rate of 15t ha -1 performed better than other rates evaluated and could be recommended for the farmers within the study areas. Keywords: Tomato; Mulching material; Mulching rate; Growth; Yield; Soil temperature; Soil moisture content