INTRODUCTION Agriculture is the world's greatest water user, accounting for 70per cent of total use (Qin et al., 2016). Rain-fed (non-irrigated) agriculture covers 8 per cent of global cropland, producing 60–70 per cent of the world's food (Chen et al., 2014). Rain-fed agriculture is becoming increasingly important in the global food supply as a result of the growing water deficit (Li et al., 2017). Global warming and erratic rainfall patterns, on the other hand, are to blame for the scarcity of water resources that limit agricultural production in arid and semi-arid countries (Qin et al., 2015). With its capacity to offer little and frequent water applications directly in plant root zone areas, drip irrigation has piqued researchers' interest here to reduce water consumption and a potential increase in production (Darwish et al., 2003; Janat, 2003). Drip irrigation has been shown to save 30 to 50 per cent of irrigation water while increasing crop output by 15 to 20per cent (Pramod et al., 2022). As the world relies on irrigated land production, irrigated agriculture faces major difficulties that jeopardize its viability. It is important to use water efficiently and bring more land under irrigation using available water resources. As a result, conserving soil moisture through mulching could be an effective way to save water while increasing dryland farming production. In recent years, notably in vegetable cultivation, plastic film has been the primary material used for soil mulching (Steinmetz et al., 2016). Mulching is a water-saving practice that conserves soil moisture, regulates temperature, and reduces soil evaporation in dryland environments (Yang et al., 2015). In rain-fed farming systems, surface mulching is commonly used as a water conservation measure (Zribi et al., 2015). Plastic sheet mulch is more effective than wheat straw mulch at conserving soil water (Li et al., 2013). Mulching's key advantage is that it conserves soil moisture by minimizing surface evaporation and preventing soil erosion (Qin et al., 2016). Mulched drip irrigation is a common water-saving irrigation technology that can improve water resource utilization efficiency in arid areas. The change in irrigation method affects the growth of the crop root system and then regulates the growth of aboveground organs (Wang et al., 2020). Mulching conserves soil water by minimizing evaporation and controlling soil temperature, lowering irrigation demand during crop cultivation periods (Kader et al., 2017). Plastic mulching has become a widely used agricultural practice due to the immediate economic benefits it provides, such as increased yields, earlier harvests, improved fruit quality, and reduced water use. Different types and colours viz. black, green, yellow, blue, grey and red plastic mulch have characteristics optical properties that change the levels of light radiation reaching the soil, causing increases or decreases in the soil temperature and moisture (Zahed et al., 2021). However, both from an environmental and agronomic standpoint, understanding of the long-term viability of plastic mulching is lacking. Mulching has a critical impact as a water-saving practice in rain-fed crop production to minimize water stress in agriculture. It is primarily crucial for retaining soil moisture, regulating soil temperature and minimizing soil evaporation, all of which have an impact on crop productivity. Mulching has several strategic implications for the soil ecosystem, crop growth and climate. Even mulch insulates the soil, assisting in the creation of beautiful and protected landscapes by providing a barrier from cold and hot temperatures. This research has gathered a wealth of knowledge about plastic mulch materials as well as their use in crop cultivation. We investigate the impact of plastic mulching and irrigation levels on tomato biometric parameters as a function of environmental circumstances. We chose tomato as a test crop because of its worldwide importance and varied reactions to climatic variables. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a globally important vegetable that is commercially grown on all continents (Sun et al., 2014).Tomatoes are an important part of the world's diet because they contain high levels of lycopene and minerals, which are beneficial to human health (Perveen et al., 2015). A thorough and quantitative study of the effects of mulching may help to close yield gaps between feasible and actual crop yields and better guide practitioners. MATERIAL AND METHODS During Rabi, the experiment was carried out at the College of Agricultural Engineering in Raichur (October 2015 to September 2016). Raichur lies in Karnataka's Region 1's Zone II, which is in the north-eastern dry zone. This location is located at 16 15' N latitude and 77 20' E longitude, at an elevation of 389 meters above mean sea level (MSL). The split-plot field experiment included three replications with four main treatments and four sub treatments. There are 16 beds in each experimental plot, I1- Water application at 60 per cent ET using drip irrigation, I2- Water application at 80 per cent ET using drip irrigation, and I3-Water application at 100 per cent ET using drip irrigation I4- Water application at 120 per cent ET using drip irrigation and sub treatments were M0- Without mulch (control), M1- White on black plastic mulch, M2– Silver on black plastic mulch and M3– Black plastic mulch were the major treatments. The experimental field has clay textured soil and a pH of 7.9 and good electrical conductivity of 0.98 dS m-1. Sowing was done on a bed of 5 m long and 1.0 m width rows. Surface drip irrigation was used for the experiment. Laying was done manually with on and off valves fixed for each bed. Healthy seedlings were transplanted onto the well-prepared experimental plots after approximately three weeks. The treatment combinations were used to sow a single seedling. Plant protection measures were implemented following the tomato crop's recommended package of actions. For evaluating several characteristics such as growth, blooming, quality characters, root parameter, and yield, the following observations were made at intervals of 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after transplanting on five randomly tagged competitive plants from each plot of each replication. With the use of a meter scale, the height of the plant was measured from the bottom to the top at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after transplanting, height of the plants was measured (DAT). Five plants were randomly tagged in each treatment to track the number of branches after transplantation. The leaf area index was calculated by dividing the leaf area per plant by the plant's land area. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS In terms of the interaction impact (Table 1), the maximum plant height of 94.15 cm was reported under drip irrigation at 80per cent ET with white on black plastic colour mulch during the growing period, when compared to other treatments. Many studies have reported that plastic mulch increases the yield of many vegetables, such as eggplant (Adamczewska-Sowinska et al., 2016), potatoes (Li et al., 2018), and tomatoes (Rahman et al., 2016; Kundu et al., 2019).In the interaction effect (Table 2), most branches were recorded under drip irrigation at 80 per cent ET with white on black plastic colour mulch (19.17), followed by 80 per cent ET with silver on black plastic colour mulch (19.18). The enhanced plant height and a maximum number of branches under this treatment could be attributed to a combination of better moisture content (Zhong-kui Xie et al., 2005), higher biosynthesis, and optimal nutrient uptake at the right soil temperature. Similar results have been reported for maize (Haque et al., 2018; Yin et al., 2019 and by Paul et al. (2013) crops. Table 3 shows the LAI interaction impact for drip irrigation at 80 per cent ET with white on black plastic colour mulch (3.01 at 90 DAT), followed by 100 per cent ET with silver on black plastic colour mulch (3.01 at 90 DAT) (2.83 at 90 DAT). This could owe to adequate soil moisture and a favourable microclimate around the plant, as well as increased photosynthetic radiation and better light dispersion, all of which aided photosynthetic activity. Second, greater plant metabolism and auxin production appear to contribute to overall plant growth and development. For a long time, vegetative growth keeps pace with reproductive growth (Wang and Yin 2015). The results are also in good agreement with the findings of Stephen et al. (2015).