The effectiveness of reflective mulch in the intercropping system between soybean and oil palm: effects on growth, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic characteristics

This study was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of using reflective mulch under the stands of oil palm plants of several ages on the intensity of solar radiation reflection, growth, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic characteristics of soybeans. A nested design was used, with the first factor of oil palm age group consisting of open land and land under oil palm stands aged 4, 5, and 8 years. The second factor was the reflective mulch that included land without mulch, land with inorganic reflective mulch, and land with organic reflective mulch. The use of reflective mulch in the soybean - oil palm intercropping system was able to increase the reflection intensity of surface solar radiation, as well as increase the soybean solar radiation interception. The use of inorganic and organic reflective mulch significantly increased the leaf area, specific leaf weight, and soybean stomatal density. Organic reflective mulch led to significant reductions in the amount of chlorophyll A and B content. The photosynthetic rate of soybean in lower leaves was increased significantly. Inorganic reflective mulch resulted in significant reductions in the rate of transpiration, intercellular CO 2 concentration, and conductance of soybean stomata in lower leaves. The use of reflective mulch contributed to improved soybean performance under oil palm stands. The use of organic reflective mulch for soybean grown under oil palm stands aged up to 5 years resulted in better growth rates due to the increased intensity of solar radiation reflected from the surface. However, the reflection effect could not meet the needs of soybean solar radiation on land under oil palm stands aged >5 years due to the very low transmission. Therefore, the use of organic reflective mulch is more effective and efficient in the soybean - oil palm intercropping system until the oil palm reaches the age of 5 years.