Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Applied Fruit Science, cilt.67, sa.3, 2025 (Scopus)
Weeds are a major challenge in strawberry production, causing yield and quality losses and impacting seedling development. In this context, the present study, conducted in the Mediterranean region of Adana, Türkiye, between 2022 and 2024, aimed to investigate the effects of different tunnel cover materials and polyethylene plastic mulches on weed populations in strawberry cultivation. Ultraviolet blocking (UV-Block) and non-blocking (UV-Open) tunnel cover materials were used in the study, with different colored polyethylene mulches (black, blue, red, yellow) applied underneath. The experiment was designed as a factorial randomised block design with three replications. Weed coverage (%), density (plants m−2), as well as fresh and dry biomass (g m−2) were assessed within a 1‑m2 quadrat in each subplot. The results showed that the use of UV-Open cover was more effective in suppressing weeds (UV-Open: 20.38%; 5.75 plants m−2; 104.13 g m−2 fresh; 38.75 g m−2 dry biomass) than UV-Block (29.44%; 11.88 plants m−2; 137.38 g m−2; 49.69 g m−2). Among the mulch treatments, black mulch provided the highest weed suppression followed by blue mulch, suggesting that blue mulch could also be a viable option for weed control in strawberry production (black: 0.13%; 0.13 plants m−2; 3.25 g m−2; 3.13 g m−2; blue: 13.75%; 5.88 plants m−2; 44.25 g m−2; 26.88 g m−2). In further analysis, dominant weed species were analysed using correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) methods to assess relationships between weed populations and mulch cover materials. The results show a correlation between cover materials and mulch colors in weed management, indicating that weed coverage and biomass increase with higher weed densities. Mulch color and cover composition are key in weed control, reducing labor costs.