Abstract
Weeds pose a major challenge to crop productivity, significantly impacting maize (Zea mays L.), which is Nepal’s second-most important staple crop. Although attainable yield 5.8 t ha⁻¹, the national average is only 3.15 t ha⁻¹, largely due to issues like weed competition that can lead to yield losses of up to 48%. This study, carried out during the winter season at the National Maize Research Program in Rampur, Chitwan, evaluated nine different weed management treatments, weedy check, weed free, green polythene mulching, clear polythene mulching, cowpea co-culture, black polythene mulching, atrazine + one hand weeding @ 30 DAS, silver black polythene mulch and Lantana camara as mulch in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The results showed that mulching methods, particularly silver-black polythene mulch, significantly enhanced growth parameters, grain yield (4,537.5 kg ha⁻¹) and stover yield (6,500 kg ha⁻¹). Furthermore, mulching facilitated earlier tasseling (73.19 DAS) and silking (85.31 DAS), while also improving soil moisture retention, and weed suppression. Both clear and black polythene mulches had beneficial effects on growth and yield. Similarly, grain yield in Lantana camara as mulch and Atrazine @ 0.75 kg ha-1 + one hand weeding also remain same with clear polythene mulch.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Silver-black polythene mulch significantly enhanced maize growth parameters.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching methods, particularly silver-black polythene mulch, significantly enhanced growth parameters, grain yield (4,537.5 kg ha⁻¹) and stover yield (6,500 kg ha⁻¹)”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Silver-black polythene mulch enhanced grain yield to 4,537.5 kg ha⁻¹.
- Treatment
- silver-black polythene mulche0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- 4,537.5 kg ha⁻¹e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching methods, particularly silver-black polythene mulch, significantly enhanced growth parameters, grain yield (4,537.5 kg ha⁻¹) and stover yield (6,500 kg ha⁻¹)”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Silver-black polythene mulch enhanced stover yield to 6,500 kg ha⁻¹.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching methods, particularly silver-black polythene mulch, significantly enhanced growth parameters, grain yield (4,537.5 kg ha⁻¹) and stover yield (6,500 kg ha⁻¹)”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching facilitated earlier maize tasseling at 73.19 DAS.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching facilitated earlier tasseling (73.19 DAS) and silking (85.31 DAS)”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching facilitated earlier maize silking at 85.31 DAS.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching facilitated earlier tasseling (73.19 DAS) and silking (85.31 DAS)”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching improved soil moisture retention.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching facilitated earlier tasseling (73.19 DAS) and silking (85.31 DAS), while also improving soil moisture retention, and weed suppression.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching improved weed suppression.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“mulching facilitated earlier tasseling (73.19 DAS) and silking (85.31 DAS), while also improving soil moisture retention, and weed suppression.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Clear polythene mulch benefited maize growth and yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Both clear and black polythene mulches had beneficial effects on growth and yield.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Black polythene mulch benefited maize growth and yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Both clear and black polythene mulches had beneficial effects on growth and yield.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Lantana camara mulch produced grain yield similar to clear polythene mulch.
- Treatment
- Lantana camara as mulche0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- remain samee0
- Comparator
- clear polythene mulche0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“grain yield in Lantana camara as mulch and Atrazine @ 0.75 kg ha-1 + one hand weeding also remain same with clear polythene mulch.”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Atrazine plus hand weeding produced grain yield similar to clear polythene mulch.
- Treatment
- Atrazine @ 0.75 kg ha-1 + one hand weedinge0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- remain samee0
- Comparator
- clear polythene mulche0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“grain yield in Lantana camara as mulch and Atrazine @ 0.75 kg ha-1 + one hand weeding also remain same with clear polythene mulch.”
t0“Maize”
The same questions in other papers
atrazine · yield · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
34 papers in the same direction as this paper · 205 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
236 papers more in this group
See all 240 papers →Lantana camara · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 3 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →poly(ethylene) · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
6 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- positive
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →poly(ethylene) · yield · Zea mays (maize)Results agree
9 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
6 papers more in this group
See all 10 papers →mulching · phenology · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
15 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
12 papers more in this group
See all 16 papers →mulching · weed · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
47 papers in the same direction as this paper · 5 in the opposite direction · 2 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- no effect
- negative
51 papers more in this group
See all 55 papers →mulching · soil: physics · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
96 papers in the same direction as this paper · 13 in the opposite direction · 2 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- no effect
108 papers more in this group
See all 112 papers →mulching · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
121 papers in the same direction as this paper · 16 in the opposite direction · 2 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- no effect
136 papers more in this group
See all 140 papers →8 of 10 groups shown: named compounds and organisms first, then groups whose results differ (checked claim by claim), then those with positive and negative results, then the smaller groups.
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.