Effect of mulching on growth and quality of tissue culture banana (var. Grand Naine) and soil properties in mid hill jhum lands of Arunachal Pradesh

Present study was conducted to examine the effect of mulch materials on growth and quality parameters of tissue culture banana (var. Grand Naine). The experiment was conducted on land having a history of jhum cultivation, and comprised of five treatments viz., T1 (local weed), T2 (toko leaf), T3 (paddy straw), T4 (black polythene) and T5 (control) which were replicated thrice. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design. Observations on banana growth (pseudostem height (cm), pseudostem circumference (cm), number of leaves, number of suckers, 3^rd leave area, average bunch weight (kg), number of hands per bunch, number of fingers per bunch, weight of finger (g)), total soluble sugars (TSS), acidity and ascorbic acid content in the fruits were recorded after fruit harvest. Mulching showed significant effect on growth attributes of banana. Maximum pseudostem circumference (29.50 cm) and plant height (92.85 cm) along with maximum bunch weight (23.00 kg), number of hands per bunch (12.71), number of fingers per bunch (154.58), finger weight (142.79 g) and TSS (20.87°B) with minimum acidity percentage (0.20) were recorded under paddy straw mulch. Mulching significantly improved the soil physical condition in terms of increased water holding capacity and a decrease in bulk density.