| A field experiment was conducted at the first research station of the College of Agriculture - University of Anbar during the Autumn season of 2023 to indicate the impact of mulching and the addition of mushroom farm waste on various vegetative characteristics of zucchini squash plants. A factorial design was applied with two factors: first, mulching with and without white polyethylene cover, and second, mushroom farm waste at four levels, 0, 5, 10, and 15 ton. ha-1. The measurements included plant length, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, and dry weight. The results indicated a significant increase in leaf area when mulching was applied (M1), reaching 41.5 dm2 compared to the non-covered treatment (M0), which recorded 34.89 dm2, with an increase percent 18.95%. Similarly, there was a notable increase in leaf area with the addition of mushroom farm waste at all levels, 0, 5, 10, and 15 ton. ha-1. The highest value was observed with the addition of 15 ton. ha-1, reaching 48.5 dm2, while the lowest value was recorded with no addition of mushroom farm waste, amounting to 21.91 dm2. This trend was consistent across other measured characteristics, including plant length, stem diameter, number of leaves, and dry weight. On the other hand, the interaction between mulching and mushroom farm waste addition significantly influenced all measured characteristics across all treatments. |
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