Abstract
We investigated the effects of microclimate under floating row cover materials on the growth of komatsuna (Brassica campestris L.) . Under a newly developed row cover film ‘Agrihot’ (spunbonded polyester non-woven fabric combined with polyethylene flat checker-patterned yarn), soil temperatures in the nighttime were higher, and lower in the daytime than those in the open field, while air temperatures was slightly higher than that under no cover condition. On the other hand, soil and air temperatures under PVA non-woven fabric ‘Tufbell3800N’ and polyester non-woven fabric ‘PASS LITE’ were higher than the open field. The stem and leaf fresh weight, the maximum leaf length and the number of leaves of komatsuna were largest under ‘Agrihot, ’ while the total sugar and nitrogen contents in the leaves were slightly lower than those of outdoors. These indicate that ‘Agrihot’ is useful to maintain air and soil temperatures adequately for komatsuna cultivation under hot conditions in earlysummer.
