SynthesisScientific reports2015
Soil mulching significantly enhances yields and water and nitrogen use efficiencies of maize and wheat: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of recultivation on soil organic carbon sequestration in abandoned coal mining sites: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Supplemental LED Lighting Effectively Enhances the Yield and Quality of Greenhouse Truss Tomato Production: Results of a Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in plant science · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of film mulching on cotton yield and water use efficiency in China: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Optimizing Biodegradable Films with Varying Induction Periods to Enhance Rice Growth and Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Deficit irrigation combined with straw mulching maintains maize yield and improves soil quality in semi-arid environments.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Toward water-smart cereal production: a narrative review of agronomic, genetic, and digital innovations for water productivity and climate resilience.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
- Bio-Based Mulching Films and Soil Conditioners for Non-Irrigated Tomato Cultivation: Toward Plastic-Free and Water-Efficient Crop Production.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Impacts of Various Straw Mulching Strategies on Soil Water, Nutrients, Thermal Regimes, and Yield in Wheat-Soybean Rotation Systems.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Study on the evolution of ecological environment and irrigation behavior since mulched drip irrigation in Yanqi basin, Xinjiang.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Straw strip mulching boosts potato yields by enhancing soil moisture and water use efficiency.Frontiers in plant science · 2025Article
- Review
- Study on Nutrient Carrier of Mulch Based on Hydrogel @SiOPolymers · 2024Article
- Regulation of tillage on grain matter accumulation in maize.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- Developing drought-smart, ready-to-grow future crops.The plant genome · 2023Review
- Salinity and Mulching Effects on Nutrition and Production of Grafted Sour Passion Fruit.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Improvement of Water and Nitrogen Use Efficiencies by Alternative Cropping Systems Based on a Model Approach.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Response of irrigated tomato (Heliyon · 2022Article
- Assessing Impacts of Transgenic Plants on Soil Using Functional Indicators: Twenty Years of Research and Perspectives.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Plastic Film Mulching Improved Maize Yield, Water Use Efficiency, and N Use Efficiency under Dryland Farming System in Northeast China.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Optimizing Wheat Yield, Water, and Nitrogen Use Efficiency With Water and Nitrogen Inputs in China: A Synthesis and Life Cycle Assessment.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Global crop yields are limited by water and nutrient availability. Soil mulching (with plastic or straw) reduces evaporation, modifies soil temperature and thereby affects crop yields. Reported effects of mulching are sometimes contradictory, likely due to differences in climatic conditions, soil characteristics, crop species, and also water and nitrogen (N) input levels. Here we report on a meta-analysis of the effects of mulching on wheat and maize, using 1310 yield observations from 74 studies conducted in 19 countries. Our results indicate that mulching significantly increased yields, WUE (yield per unit water) and NUE (yield per unit N) by up to 60%, compared with no-mulching. Effects were larger for maize than wheat, and larger for plastic mulching than straw mulching. Interestingly, plastic mulching performed better at relatively low temperature while straw mulching showed the opposite trend. Effects of mulching also tended to decrease with increasing water input. Mulching effects were not related to soil organic matter content. In conclusion, soil mulching can significantly increase maize and wheat yields, WUE and NUE, and thereby may contribute to closing the yield gap between attainable and actual yields, especially in dryland and low nutrient input agriculture. The management of soil mulching requires site-specific knowledge.
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