Abstract: To investigate the effects of different colored plastic film mulching on photosynthetic pigment content, fruit quality and yield of dwarf common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and to select suitable film types for high-quality and efficient cultivation in the Yangtze River Basin, the self-bred dwarf common bean variety Aijiang 321 was used as the test material. Four colored films, i.e., red (R), blue (B), purple (P) and yellow (Y), were applied, with colorless film as the control (CK). The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids in leaves at the mature stage, as well as the contents of free amino acids, vitamin C, soluble sugar, soluble protein and yield in pods were determined. The results showed that under yellow film treatment, the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll a+b were the highest, which were significantly increased by 26.29%, 38.10% and 28.57%, respectively, compared with CK. The photosynthetic pigment contents under blue and purple films were also significantly higher than those under CK, while no significant difference was observed between red film treatment and CK. Regarding fruit quality, the contents of free amino acids and soluble protein in all colored film treatments were significantly lower than those in CK, with a greater reduction under yellow film. No significant differences were found in vitamin C and soluble sugar contents among all treatments. In terms of yield, the yield per plant and yield per plot under all colored film treatments were significantly lower than those of CK. Among them, purple film treatment gave the relatively highest yield, yet still decreased by more than 10% compared with CK, while red and blue films caused a yield reduction of over 20%.

Key words: common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), plastic film mulching, chlorophyll, quality, yield