Silver plastic mulch delivered the strongest combination of soil-moisture retention and broccoli yield in a randomized field experiment conducted during the 2022 Rabi season at the experimental farm of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir. Among the five treatments tested, the reflective plastic covering retained 30.61% soil moisture at a depth of 15 cm, produced the heaviest curds and generated the highest total yield. The same treatment also supported head initiation 25 days after transplanting, making it the leading option for several of the crop and soil-water outcomes assessed in this trial.
The study compared no mulch, or the control, with white plastic, black plastic, silver plastic and organic mulch. It used a randomized complete block design with three replications and recorded soil conditions at 5, 10 and 15 cm below the surface. The crop was broccoli, Brassica oleracea var. italica L., and the investigators evaluated soil temperature, moisture dynamics, growth, head development and yield.
Plants grown with silver plastic mulch had a mean curd weight of 791.99 g per plant and a mean head diameter of 17.97 cm, both the highest values reported for the treatments. Total yield under silver mulch reached 52.80 t ha⁻¹. The heat response followed a different pattern: black plastic mulch produced the highest measured soil temperature, 24.67 °C at 5 cm.
Organic mulch, meanwhile, led the soil-quality measurements, with soil organic carbon of 1.3% and organic matter of 2.24%. These contrasting results show that the treatment associated with the best yield and moisture outcomes was not the one associated with the highest temperature or the highest organic-matter readings. To evaluate the movement of water and heat below the soil surface, the researchers used HYDRUS-1D to simulate soil water content and heat transport under mulched and non-mulched conditions.
The model incorporated the treatment contrast described in the study and was used to represent root water uptake together with soil water and heat dynamics. Agreement between observed and simulated values was strong: root mean square errors ranged from 0.718 to 1.161, while coefficients of determination ranged from 0.8995 to 0.9445. Within the experimental dataset, those fit statistics support the model’s ability to reproduce the measured patterns of soil moisture and temperature.
The findings are specific to a one-season trial at one experimental site, with five mulch treatments, three replications and measurements at three soil depths. Silver plastic was identified as the most effective treatment for improving broccoli yield and water-use efficiency within the scope of the experiment, while organic mulch was associated with higher soil organic carbon and organic matter. The study’s authors also concluded that HYDRUS-1D was a reliable tool for simulating root water uptake and heat dynamics under the different mulching conditions.
Taken together, the field results and model comparison point to distinct roles for reflective plastic, dark plastic and organic mulch in managing the upper soil environment: silver plastic led the reported crop and moisture indicators, black plastic produced the highest near-surface temperature, and organic mulch recorded the strongest soil-organic-matter values.
Subject of Research: Effects of spectral-selective mulching on soil hydrothermal conditions and broccoli yield
Article Title: Enhancing soil hydrothermal efficiency through spectral-selective mulching and drip irrigation in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.)
Article References: Tantray, A. M., Bhat, O. A., Kumar, R., Khan, Z. A., Bakshi, P., Dhotra, B., Attar, M. I., Yousuf, R., Sheikh, Z. N., Alshudukhi, F. M. S., Hussan, M. U., Al-Munqedhi, B. M. A., & Siddiqui, M. H. (2026). Enhancing soil hydrothermal efficiency through spectral-selective mulching and drip irrigation in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.). BMC Plant Biology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09860-5
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12870-026-09860-5
Keywords: broccoli cultivation, silver plastic mulch, soil moisture, soil temperature, field experiment, crop yield, soil organic matter, HYDRUS-1D, spectral-selective mulch, randomized block design, Enhancing, soil
