Abstract
Introduction Mulching is a key practice in sustainable agriculture that improves soil quality, conserves resources, and enhances crop performance. However, comparative assessments of different mulch types under organic greenhouse conditions remain limited, particularly in semi-arid environments. Methods A field experiment was conducted in an unheated greenhouse using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Five treatments were tested: black polyethylene mulch (BM), white polyethylene mulch (WM), straw mulch (SM), compost mulch (CM), and a bare soil control (CK). The study evaluated the impact of these treatments on soil physicochemical properties, microbial communities, and eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.) growth and yield under organic farming conditions. Results White mulch significantly increased soil pH, while CK resulted in the highest soil electrical conductivity. BM maintained the highest soil temperature and water content across all dates. CM significantly enhanced soil organic matter (+0.32 g kg⁻¹), available phosphorus (+41 mg kg⁻¹), potassium (+302 mg kg⁻¹), and total nitrogen (+5.33 mg kg⁻¹) compared to CK. SM promoted the greatest microbial abundance, including bacteria, mesophilic and thermophilic fungi. The Soil Quality Index (SQI) ranged from 0.34 to 0.58, with BM recording the highest value and CK the lowest. BM also led to significant improvements in plant growth metrics and yield, with a 29.5 t ha⁻¹ increase over the other treatments. Discussion Plastic mulch, particularly black polyethylene, proved to be the most effective in enhancing soil conditions, microbial activity, and eggplant productivity in the short term. These results highlight its potential as a cost-effective strategy for improving crop performance and soil resilience in semi-arid organic greenhouse systems. Nonetheless, further long-term studies across diverse environments and soil types are necessary to confirm the broader applicability of these findings
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
White mulch significantly increased soil pH.
- Taxon
- eggplant
Solanum melongenae1 - Treatment
- White mulche0
- Outcome
- soil pHe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“White mulch significantly increased soil pH”
e1“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Bare soil control had the highest soil electrical conductivity.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- bare soil controle1
- Outcome
- soil electrical conductivitye0
- Direction
- higheste0
Not reportedMaterial
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CK resulted in the highest soil electrical conductivity”
e1“a bare soil control (CK)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Black mulch maintained the highest soil temperature across dates.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- black polyethylene mulche1
- Outcome
- soil temperaturee0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Qualifier
- across all datese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BM maintained the highest soil temperature and water content across all dates.”
e1“black polyethylene mulch (BM)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Black mulch maintained the highest soil water content across dates.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- black polyethylene mulche1
- Outcome
- water contente0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Qualifier
- across all datese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BM maintained the highest soil temperature and water content across all dates.”
e1“black polyethylene mulch (BM)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Compost mulch increased soil organic matter by 0.32 g kg⁻¹ against bare soil.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- compost mulche1
- Outcome
- soil organic mattere0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- +0.32 g kg⁻¹e0
- Comparator
- bare soil controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CM significantly enhanced soil organic matter (+0.32 g kg⁻¹), available phosphorus (+41 mg kg⁻¹), potassium (+302 mg kg⁻¹), and total nitrogen (+5.33 mg kg⁻¹) compared to CK.”
e1“compost mulch (CM), and a bare soil control (CK)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Compost mulch increased available phosphorus by 41 mg kg⁻¹ against bare soil.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- compost mulche1
- Outcome
- available phosphoruse0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- +41 mg kg⁻¹e0
- Comparator
- bare soil controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CM significantly enhanced soil organic matter (+0.32 g kg⁻¹), available phosphorus (+41 mg kg⁻¹), potassium (+302 mg kg⁻¹), and total nitrogen (+5.33 mg kg⁻¹) compared to CK.”
e1“compost mulch (CM), and a bare soil control (CK)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Compost mulch increased potassium by 302 mg kg⁻¹ against bare soil.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- compost mulche1
- Outcome
- potassiume0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- +302 mg kg⁻¹e0
- Comparator
- bare soil controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CM significantly enhanced soil organic matter (+0.32 g kg⁻¹), available phosphorus (+41 mg kg⁻¹), potassium (+302 mg kg⁻¹), and total nitrogen (+5.33 mg kg⁻¹) compared to CK.”
e1“compost mulch (CM), and a bare soil control (CK)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Compost mulch increased total nitrogen by 5.33 mg kg⁻¹ against bare soil.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- compost mulche1
- Outcome
- total nitrogene0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- +5.33 mg kg⁻¹e0
- Comparator
- bare soil controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CM significantly enhanced soil organic matter (+0.32 g kg⁻¹), available phosphorus (+41 mg kg⁻¹), potassium (+302 mg kg⁻¹), and total nitrogen (+5.33 mg kg⁻¹) compared to CK.”
e1“compost mulch (CM), and a bare soil control (CK)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulch promoted the greatest abundance of bacteria and mesophilic and thermophilic fungi.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- straw mulche1
- Outcome
- microbial abundance, including bacteria, mesophilic and thermophilic fungie0
- Direction
- greateste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“SM promoted the greatest microbial abundance, including bacteria, mesophilic and thermophilic fungi.”
e1“straw mulch (SM)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
The Soil Quality Index ranged from 0.34 to 0.58.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae1
- Outcome
- Soil Quality Indexe0
- Value
- 0.34 to 0.58e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The Soil Quality Index (SQI) ranged from 0.34 to 0.58”
e1“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Black mulch had the highest Soil Quality Index.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae3
- Treatment
- black polyethylene mulche2
- Outcome
- Soil Quality Indexe1
- Direction
- higheste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“with BM recording the highest value and CK the lowest.”
e1“The Soil Quality Index (SQI) ranged from 0.34 to 0.58”
e2“black polyethylene mulch (BM)”
e3“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Bare soil had the lowest Soil Quality Index.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae3
- Treatment
- bare soil controle2
- Outcome
- Soil Quality Indexe1
- Direction
- loweste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“with BM recording the highest value and CK the lowest.”
e1“The Soil Quality Index (SQI) ranged from 0.34 to 0.58”
e2“a bare soil control (CK)”
e3“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Black mulch significantly improved eggplant growth metrics.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- black polyethylene mulche1
- Outcome
- plant growth metricse0
- Direction
- improvementse0
- Comparator
- other treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BM also led to significant improvements in plant growth metrics and yield, with a 29.5 t ha⁻¹ increase over the other treatments.”
e1“black polyethylene mulch (BM)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Black mulch raised eggplant yield by 29.5 t ha⁻¹ over other treatments.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae2
- Treatment
- black polyethylene mulche1
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 29.5 t ha⁻¹e0
- Comparator
- other treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BM also led to significant improvements in plant growth metrics and yield, with a 29.5 t ha⁻¹ increase over the other treatments.”
e1“black polyethylene mulch (BM)”
e2“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors identify black polyethylene mulch as most effective for short-term soil conditions, microbial activity and eggplant productivity.
- Taxon
- eggplantSolanum melongenae1
- Outcome
- black polyethylenee0
- Qualifier
- in the short terme0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Plastic mulch, particularly black polyethylene, proved to be the most effective in enhancing soil conditions, microbial activity, and eggplant productivity in the short term.”
e1“eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.)”
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