The effect of different mulch materials with varying thicknesses on weed control and yield in eggplant cultivation

Months	Average temperature (°C)			Total precipitation (mm)			Average relative humidity (%)
Months	2021	2022	LTA	2021	2022	LTA	2021	2022	LTA
March	10.0	10.4	6.2	17.5	18.1	22.1	60.5	65.6	52.2
April	17.4	11.5	13.0	18.4	83.6	33.8	43.6	76.6	49.9
May	21.1	18.8	17.7	42.1	76.1	46.5	46.3	63.1	51.5
June	26.8	24.2	22.1	0.7	15.7	32.0	33.9	48.3	47.3
July	27.4	26.7	25.9	32.4	30.2	13.7	45.7	48.4	45.3
August	27.4	24.2	25.3	8.3	15.3	9.7	40.6	47.6	47.1
September	22.2	23.5	20.4	11.5	1.4	11.5	44.8	47.7	46.2
October	12.7	14.5	13.1	18.5	7.3	26.3	60.0	49.6	48.5

1 Meteorological Service of Türkiye; LTA, long-term average (MS, 2024).

Table 2.

General properties and application rates of mulch materials used in the study.

Code	Material used	General characteristics	Application quantities
CP-5	CP 5 cm	Paper pieces cut vertically into 1 cm pieces	1000 kg · da⁻¹
CP-10	CP 10 cm		2000 kg · da⁻¹
CP-15	CP 15 cm		3000 kg · da⁻¹
CTG-5 cm	CTG 5 cm	Mixed CTG: L. perenne 25%, F. arundinacea 45%, P. pratensis 10%, F. rubra subsp. rubra 20%	1750 kg · da⁻¹
CTG-10 cm	CTG 10 cm		3500 kg · da⁻¹
CTG-15 cm	CTG 15 cm		5250 kg · da⁻¹
WS-5	WS 5 cm	WS (‘Demir 2000’ variety)	1500 kg · da⁻¹
WS-10	WS 10 cm		3000 kg · da⁻¹
WS-15	WS 15 cm		4500 kg · da⁻¹

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

Table 3.

Density scale of weeds.

Classification	Density level	Density (plants · m⁻²)
A	High density	>10
B	Dense	1–10
C	Medium density	0.1–1
D	Low density	0.01–0.1
E	Rare	<0.01

Table 4.

Weed families, scientific names, common names and life cycles of the identified weed species in the experimental area.

Family	Scientific name	Common name	Life cycle	Density (plants · m⁻²) – Density scale
Family	Scientific name	Common name	Life cycle	2021	2022	Mean
Narrow-leaved
Poaceae	Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.	Johnson grass	P	14.5 A	10.6 A	12.6 A
	Seteria verticillata (L.) P.B.	Bristly foxtail	A	0.8 C	0.6 C	0.7 C
	Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.	Bermuda grass	P	0.5 C	0.1 C	0.3 C
Broad-leaved
	Amaranthus retroflexus L.	Redroot pigweed	A	-	0.2 C	0.1 C
Amaranthaceae	Chenopodium album L.	Common lambsquarters	A	5.5 B	6.0 B	5.8 B
	Atriplex nitens Schkuhr.	Mountain spinach	P	0.6 C	0.6 C	0.6 C
	Suaeda altissima (L.) PALL	Sea blight	A	0.2 C	0.3 C	0.3 C
Asteraceae	Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.	Canada thistle	P	0.9 C	0.8 C	0.8 C
	Xanthium strumarium L.	Common cocklebur	A	4.8 B	5.0 B	4.9 B
Brassicaceae	Sinapis arvensis L.	mustard	A	0.3 C	-	0.2 C
	Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb. Ex Prant.	Flixweed	A	0.2 C	-	0.1 C
	Cardaria draba (L.) Desv.	Hoary cress	P	0.4 C	0.5 C	0.5 C
	Myagrum perfoliatum L.	Field mustard	A	0.8 C	0.4 C	0.6 C
Convolvulaceae	Convolvulus arvensis L.	Field bindweed	P	4.3 B	3.8 B	4.0 B
Fabaceae	Alhagi pseudalhagi (BIEB.) DESV.	Camelthorn	P	0.5 C	-	0.3 C
Portulacaceae	Portulaca oleracea L.	Purslane	A	0.5 C	0.6 C	0.6 C
	Polygonum aviculare L.	Prostrate knotweed	A	0.3 C	0.3 C	0.3 C
Parasitic
Cuscutaceae	Cuscuta spp.	Dodder	Parasitic	0.3 C	0.1 C	0.2 C

1 Life cycle: A – annual; P – perennial.

1 Density scale: A – high density, ≥10.00 plants · m⁻²; B – intensive, 1.00–10.00 plants · m⁻²; C – medium, 0.10–1.00 plants · m⁻².

Effect of mulching on weed population (CP, CTG and WS). Lowercase letters indicate groupings among the treatments, while uppercase letters indicate groupings among evaluations within each treatment. Differences between means indicated by the same letter are not significant at the 0.05 level. CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

Table 5.

Effect of mulching on S. halepense.

SORG	2021 year					2022 year					Mean
TRE	1.E	2.E	3. E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3. E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p
Weed free	0.00 f	0.00 g	0.00 h	-	-	0.00 d	0.00 g	0.00 h	-	-	0.00 e	0.00 g	0.00 g	-	-
CTG-15	0.00 f	0.00 g	0.00 h	-	-	0.13 dB	1.00 gAB	1.75 hA	7.18	0.026*	0.06 eB	0.50 gAB	0.88 gA	7.18	0.026*
CP-15	8.00 cdB	9.00 deB	11.00 efA	7.00	0.027*	4.75 cC	7.50 efB	9.25 efA	25.55	0.001**	6.38 cdC	8.25 deB	10.13 deA	38.20	0.000**
CTG-5	5.00 eC	10.00 cdeB	14.00 cdeA	25.24	0.001**	4.50 cC	11.00 cdB	14.25 cdA	46.09	0.000**	4.75 dC	10.50 cdB	14.13 cA	39.60	0.000**
WS-10	6.00 deC	8.00 eB	12.00 defA	42.00	0.000**	3.63 cC	8.00 deB	10.54 eA	25.06	0.001**	4.81 dC	8.00 deB	11.27 dA	56.48	0.000**
CP-10	9.00 bcB	12.00 cAB	15.00 cdA	11.17	0.009**	8.00 bC	11.75cB	13.83 dA	28.38	0.001**	8.50 bcC	11.88 cB	14.42 cA	17.00	0.003**
WS-5	8.00 cdB	11.00 cdB	16.00 cA	14.45	0.005**	5.63 cC	12.00 bcB	16.00 cA	30.78	0.001**	6.81 cdC	11.50 cB	16.00 cA	23.50	0.001**
CTG-10	6.00 deB	8.00 eAB	9.00 fgA	3.50	0.098	3.50 cB	7.00 efA	7.79 fA	35.62	0.000**	4.75 dB	7.50 eA	8.40 eA	46.11	0.000**
WS-15	2.00 fB	5.00 fA	6.00 gA	14.18	0.005**	1.13 dB	4.46 fA	5.00 gA	31.18	0.001**	1.56 eB	4.73 fA	5.50 fA	30.46	0.001**
CP-5	11.00 bC	17.00 bB	21.00 bA	39.81	0.000**	9.50 bC	15.00 bB	18.50 bA	28.50	0.001**	10.25 bC	16.00 bB	19.75 bA	38.11	0.000**
Weedy	20.00 aC	32.00 aB	53.00 aA	58.39	0.000**	16.00 aC	30.00 aB	46.50 aA	61.24	0.000**	18.00 aC	31.00 aB	49.75 aA	83.19	0.000**
Mean	7.54	11.18	15.09			5.16	9.79	13.04			6.35	10.49	14.06
F	38.93	135.12	167.48			38.12	63.00	422.00			48.03	108.20	391.92
P	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**

1* p < 0.05;

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; E, assessment; TRE, treatments; WS, wheat straw.

1 Lowercase letters indicate groupings among the applications, while uppercase letters indicate groupings among evaluations within each application. Differences between means indicated by the same letter are not significant at the 0.05 level.

Table 6.

Effect of mulching on C. arvensis.

CON.	2021 year					2022 year					Mean
TRE	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p
Weed free	0.00 d	0.00 e	0.00 d	-	-	0.00 f	0.00 e	0.00 f	-	-	0.00 f	0.00 f	0.00 f	-	-
CTG-15	0.00dC	1.00 deB	3.00 cA	42.00	0.000**	0.00 fC	0.50 efC	1.63 efA	30.69	0.001**	0.00 fC	0.75 efB	2.31 deA	37.72	0.000**
CP-15	0.00 dB	3.00 cdA	3.00 cA	21.60	0.002**	0.00 fB	2.29 cdA	2.75 cdeA	31.00	0.001**	0.00 fB	2.65 cA	2.88 cdeA	29.36	0.001**
CTG-5	2.00 bcA	3.00 cdA	3.00 cA	2.28	0.183	1.0 deB	2.00 cdAB	3.00 cdeA	6.85	0.028*	1.50 eB	2.50 cAB	3.00 cdeA	4.80	0.057
WS-10	3.00 bB	5.00 bcA	5.00 bcA	8.00	0.020*	1.50 cdB	3.50 bcA	3.75 bcdA	15.64	0.004**	2.25 cdB	4.25 bcA	4.38 bcdeA	13.21	0.006**
CP-10	3.00 bA	5.00 bcA	6.00 bcA	3.818	0.085	2.00 cB	3.33 bcAB	4.00 bcdA	3.89	0.082	2.50 bcB	4.17 bcAB	5.00 bcdA	3.94	0.080
WS-5	2.00 bcB	5.00 bcA	6.00 bcA	18.90	0.003**	1.50 cdC	3.50 bcB	4.50 bcA	28.00	0.001**	1.75 deB	4.25 bcA	5.25 bcA	23.11	0.002**
CTG-10	0.00 dC	2.00 deB	4.00 cA	33.88	0.001**	0.00 fC	1.50 deB	2.63 deA	39.96	0.000**	0.00 fC	1.75 deB	3.31 cdeA	40.29	0.000**
WS-15	1.00 cdC	2.00 deB	3.00 cA	16.00	0.004**	0.50 efB	1.50 deAB	2.25 deA	6.52	0.031*	0.75 fB	1.75 deA	2.63 deA	10.56	0.011*
CP-5	3.00 bB	6.00 bA	7.00 bA	8.66	0.017*	3.00 bB	4.33 bAB	5.50 bA	8.55	0.017*	3.00 bB	5.17 bA	6.25 bA	8.74	0.017*
Weedy	6.00 aA	9.00 aA	11.00 aA	2.09	0.205	4.00 aA	7.00 aA	7.50 aA	2.86	0.134	5.00 aA	8.00 aA	9.25 aA	2.54	0.158
Mean	2.09	4.09	5.00			1.23	2.68	3.41			1.66	3.38	4.20
F	27.270	15.193	10.15			20.870	17.562	12.725			45.580	16.986	11.173
P	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**

1* p < 0.05;

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; E, assessment; TRE, treatments; WS, wheat straw.

Table 7.

Effect of mulching on X. strumarium.

XAN	2021 year					2022 year					Mean
TRE	1.E	2.E	3. E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3. E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3. E	F	p
Weed free	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 b	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-
CTG-15	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 b	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-
CP-15	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 b	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-
CTG-5	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 bA	0.00 bA	0.13 bA	3.000	0.125	0.00 bA	0.00 bA	0.06 cA	3.000	0.125
WS-10	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 bA	0.00 bA	0.04 bA	1.000	0.422	0.00 bA	0.00 bA	0.02 cA	1.000	0.422
CP-10	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 bA	0.25 bA	0.46 bA	3.640	0.092	0.00 bA	0.13 bA	0.23 cA	3.640	0.092
WS-5	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 bA	0.25 bA	0.25 bA	3.000	0.125	0.00 bA	0.13 bA	0.13 cA	3.000	0.125
CTG-10	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 bA	0.00 bA	0.13 bA	3.000	0.125	0.00 bA	0.00 bA	0.06 cA	3.000	0.125
WS-15	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 b	-	-	0.00 b	0.00 b	0.00 c	-	-
CP-5	0.00 bB	1.00 bA	1.00 bA	24.000	0.001**	0.00 bA	0.75 bA	1.00 bA	4.875	0.055	0.00 bA	0.88 bA	1.00 bA	9.500	0.014*
Weedy	3.00 aB	6.00 aA	8.00 aA	11.400	0.009**	2.50 aA	4.00 aA	5.00 aA	1.583	0.280	2.75 aB	5.00 aAB	6.50 aA	5.344	0.046*
Mean	0.36	0.81	0.90			0.23	0.48	0.64			0.29	0.64	0.77
F	27.00	26.437	3043.2			18.75	10.85	16.32			22.68	17.77	104.69
P	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**

1* p < 0.05;

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; E, assessment; TRE, treatments; WS, wheat straw.

Table 8.

Effect of mulching on other weed species.

Other	2021 year					2022 year					Mean
TRE	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p	1.E	2.E	3.E	F	p
Weed free	0.00 e	0.00 d	0.00 c	-	-	0.00 d	0.00 d	0.00 e	-	-	0.00 e	0.00 d	0.00c	-	-
CTG-15	0.00 eA	0.00 dA	0.08 cA	1.00	0.422	0.00 d	0.00 d	0.00 e			0.00 e	0.00 d	0.04 c	1.00	0.422
CP-15	0.00 eB	0.17 cdB	0.67 bcA	10.40	0.011*	0.00 dB	0.00 dB	0.50 bcdA	12.00	0.008**	0.00 e	0.08 d	0.58 c	15.63	0.004**
CTG-5	1.00 bA	1.67 bA	1.75 bA	1.49	0.298	1.00 bA	1.50 bA	1.50 bcA	1.00	0.422	1.00 b	1.58 b	1.63 b	1.34	0.329
WS-10	0.08 deB	0.92 bcA	1.00 bcA	55.50	0.000**	0.25 cdB	1.00 bcA	1.25 bcdA	13.00	0.007**	0.17 de	0.96 bc	1.13 bc	26.64	0.001**
CP-10	0.08 deA	0.33 cdA	0.67 bcA	2.46	0.165	0.00 B	0.25 cdAB	0.50 bcdA	4.50	0.064	0.04 e	0.29 cd	0.58 bc	3.25	0.110
WS-5	0.83 bcB	1.50 bA	1.92 bA	16.12	0.004*	0.75 bcB	1.50 bA	1.75 bA	13.00	0.007**	0.79 bc	1.50 b	1.83 b	16.86	0.003**
CTG-10	0.33 cdeA	0.33 cdA	0.58 bA	0.50	0.630	0.25 cdA	0.25 cdA	0.50 bcdA	1.00	0.422	0.29 cde	0.29 cd	0.54 bc	0.70	0.531
WS-15	0.00 A	0.17 cdA	0.17 cA	2.00	0.216	0.00 dA	0.25 cdA	0.25 deA	1.50	0.296	0.00 e	0.21 cd	0.21 c	1.78	0.246
CP-5	0.58 bcdB	1.42 bA	1.83 bA	9.72	0.013*	0.75 bcB	1.25 bAB	1.50 bcA	3.50	0.098	0.67 bcd	1.33 b	1.67 b	7.46	0.024*
Weedy	2.67 aB	7.00 aA	9.33 aA	13.43	0.006**	2.00 aB	6.50 aA	8.00 aA	12.10	0.008**	2.33 a	6.75 a	8.67 a	13.13	0.006**
Mean	0.50	1.20	1.60			0.45	1.14	1.43			0.48	1.18	1.53
F	22.658	68.389	31.962			8.750	40.513	34.785			15.341	55.037	34.075
P	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**			0.000**	0.000**	0.000**

1* p < 0.05;

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; E, assessment; TRE, treatments; WS, wheat straw.

Table 9.

Effect of mulching on weed dry weight.

Treatments	2022		2023		Means
Treatments	Weed dry weights (g)	Effect (%)	Weed dry weights (g)	Effect (%)	Weed dry weights (g)	Effect (%)
CTG-5 cm	210.13 ± 14.72 b	17.11	206.38 ± 23.41 b	49.34	208.26 ± 15.86 b	36.97
CTG-10 cm	160.70 ± 17.79 d	36.61	165.70 ± 14.72 c	59.32	163.20 ± 9.35 c	50.61
CTG-15 cm	115.20 ± 21.60 f	54.56	99.80 ± 4.09 de	75.50	107.50 ± 12.62 d	67.47
CP-5	143.30 ± 7.25 e	43.47	186.80 ± 14.39 bc	54.14	165.05 ± 7.13 c	50.05
CP-10	66.50 ± 14.71 g	73.77	77.75 ± 14.93 ef	80.91	72.13 ± 14.77 e	78.17
CP-15	42.00 ± 14.14 h	83.43	48.25 ± 17.97 g	88.16	45.13 ± 15.99 f	86.34
WS-5	182.19 ± 12.63 c	28.13	203.43 ± 16.82 b	50.06	192.81 ± 7.83 b	41.65
WS-10	122.00 ± 10.80 f	51.87	114.78 ± 10.64 d	71.82	118.39 ± 5.98 d	64.17
WS-15	60.00 ± 21.20 gh	76.33	60.00 ± 19.58 fg	85.27	60.00 ± 19.57 de	81.84
Weed	253.50 ± 4.72 a	0.00	407.37 ± 34.27 a	0.00	330.44 ± 15.70 a	0.00
Weed-free	0.00 ± 0.00 ı	100.00	0.00 ± 0.00 h	100.00	0.00 ± 0.00 f	100.00
Mean	123.23 ± 75.04		142.75 ± 108.20		132.99 ± 89.84
F	116.782		155.467		214.863
p-value	0.000**		0.000**		0.000**

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

1 Lowercase letters indicate groups formed among the applications, while uppercase letters denote groups formed within evaluations for each application. Differences between means indicated by the same letter are not significant at the 0.05 level. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation.

Table 10.

Effects of mulching on eggplant yield and yield components.

Treatments	Plant height (cm)	Fruits per plant (fruit · plant⁻¹)	Fruit weight (g)	Yield per plant (kg)	Yield (t · ha⁻¹)
2021
CTG-5 cm	50.60 ± 1.41 h	17.85 ± 0.08 e	140.03 ± 1.63 e	2.50 ± 0.16 d	65.25 ± 1.54 d
CTG-10 cm	72.14 ± 1.41 c	19.59 ± 0.04 b	155.11 ± 1.65 b	3.04 ± 0.16 abc	78.99 ± 1.51 b
CTG-15 cm	75.20 ± 2.16 b	19.74 ± 0.08 a	162.05 ± 1.42 a	3.20 ± 0.22 a	83.20 ± 0.81 a
CP-5	49.45 ± 0.71 h	17.33 ± 0.06 f	132.13 ± 2.18 f	2.29 ± 0.08 d	59.54 ± 0.40 g
CP-10	64.70 ± 2.94 e	19.43 ± 0.06 c	144.08 ± 0.83 d	2.80 ± 0.16 c	72.55 ± 0.64 d
CP-15	76.80 ± 0.82 ab	19.45 ± 0.04 c	154.17 ± 1.46 b	3.00 ± 0.14 abc	78.00 ± 1.06 b
WS-5	54.70 ± 1.6 3 g	17.02 ± 0.07 g	138.07 ± 2.16 e	2.35 ± 0.12 d	61.10 ± 0.70 f
WS-10	78.30 ± 0.00 a	19.67 ± 0.08 ab	160.06 ± 1.48 a	3.15 ± 0.28 ab	81.90 ± 0.70 a
WS-15	62.30 ± 1.41 f	19.32 ± 0.07 c	150.04 ± 2.12 c	2.90 ± 0.16 bc	75.40 ± 0.32 c
Weed	43.12 ± 2.16 ı	15.87 ± 0.09 h	126.02 ± 1.63 g	2.01 ± 0.16 e	52.26 ± 0.81 h
Weed-free	68.40 ± 1.41 d	19.24 ± 0.05 d	148.10 ± 1.43 c	2.85 ± 0.12 c	74.10 ± 0.70 c
Mean	63.25 ± 11.86	18.59 ± 1.29	146.35 ± 11.17	2.74 ± 0.41	71.11 ± 0.97
F	219.791	159.572	186.858	21.177	483.703
p-value	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**
2022
CTG-5 cm	52.68 ± 5.19 f	15.45 ± 0.62 c	150.00 ± 4.16 bcd	2.32 ± 0.08 de	60.23 ± 2.23 de
CTG-10 cm	70.09 ± 3.10 abc	19.35 ± 0.65 a	155.00 ± 3.55 abc	3.00 ± 0.14 a	78.00 ± 3.82 a
CTG-15 cm	71.68 ± 6.22 bc	18.60 ± 0.75 ab	162.50 ± 6.45 a	3.02 ± 0.10 a	78.52 ± 2.62 a
CP-5	51.55 ± 5.04 f	15.10 ± 0.61 c	140.75 ± 5.61 e	2.12 ± 0.05 e	55.20 ± 1.35 e
CP-10	63.90 ± 2.79 de	17.88 ± 0.29 b	147.25 ± 5.12 cde	2.63 ± 0.12 b	68.45 ± 3.27 b
CP-15	80.05 ± 5.13 a	19.60 ± 1.03 a	151.25 ± 6.89 bcd	2.97 ± 0.24 a	77.12 ± 6.25 a
WS-5	51.73 ± 3.93 f	15.55 ± 0.81 c	140.25 ± 5.56 e	2.18 ± 0.09 de	56.65 ± 2.55 de
WS-10	75.33 ± 5.39 ab	17.55 ± 1.72 b	145.50 ± 4.50 de	2.56 ± 0.29 bc	66.45 ± 7.57 bc
WS-15	60.73 ± 3.26 e	18.88 ± 1.07 ab	158.25 ± 2.36 ab	2.99 ± 0.13 a	77.62 ± 3.62 a
Weed	41.22 ± 3.69 g	12.50 ± 0.60 d	123.75 ± 8.53 f	1.54 ± 0.06 f	40.13 ± 1.60 f
Weed-free	66.25 ± 2.21 cde	16.20 ± 0.81 c	145.75 ± 3.30 de	2.36 ± 0.13 cd	61.39 ± 3.54 cd
Mean	62.29 ± 12.10	16.97 ± 2.26	147.30 ± 11.09	2.52 ± 0.47	65.43 ± 1.22
F	29.872	24.307	15.038	38.455	38.455
p-value	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**
Mean
CTG-5 cm	51.64 ± 2.86 f	16.70 ± 0.96 cd	145.02 ± 3.78 cd	2.41 ± 0.07 e	62.74 ± 1.28 d
CTG-10 cm	71.11 ± 1.92 c	19.48 ± 0.85 a	155.06 ± 5.30 ab	3.02 ± 0.14 ab	78.49 ± 2.45 ab
CTG-15 cm	73.44 ± 3.59 bc	19.17 ± 0.49 a	162.28 ± 7.21 a	3.11 ± 0.14 a	80.86 ± 1.61 a
CP-5	50.50 ± 2.59 f	16.26 ± 1.03 d	136.44 ± 6.42 e	2.21 ± 0.04 e	57.37 ± 0.70 e
CP-10	64.30 ± 2.83 de	18.63 ± 1.07 ab	145.67 ± 6.18 cd	2.72 ± 0.11 cd	70.50 ± 1.95 d
CP-15	78.43 ± 2.80 a	19.54 ± 0.48 a	152.71 ± 7.31 bc	2.98 ± 0.15 ab	77.56 ± 3.26 b
WS-5	53.21 ± 1.55 f	16.30 ± 1.00 d	139.16 ± 4.49 de	2.26 ± 0.11 e	58.87 ± 1.58 e
WS-10	76.81 ± 2.69 ab	18.61 ± 1.35 ab	152.78 ± 4.29 bc	2.85 ± 0.26 bc	74.17 ± 4.04 c
WS-15	61.51 ± 2.22 e	19.10 ± 0.48 a	154.15 ± 3.83 b	2.94 ± 0.09 ab	76.51 ± 1.74 bc
Weed	42.17 ± 2.62 g	14.23 ± 0.84 e	124.89 ± 3.30 f	1.78 ± 0.11 f	46.19 ± 0.44 f
Weed-free	67.33 ± 0.62 d	17.72 ± 0.37 bc	146.93 ± 2.09 bcd	2.61 ± 0.07 d	67.74 ± 1.54 d
Mean	62.77 ± 11.78	17.79 ± 1.81	146.82 ± 11.01	2.63 ± 0.42	68.27 ± 1.06
F	91.245	15.582	16.080	38.814	104.424
p-value	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

1 Differences between means indicated by the same letter are not significant at the 0.05 level. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation.

Table 11.

Effects of mulching on eggplant fruit quality and marketable yield.

Treatments	Fruit length (cm)	Fruit diameter (cm)	Fruit firmness (kg · cm⁻²)	Marketable yield (t · ha⁻¹)	Unmarketable yield (t · ha⁻¹)
CTG-5 cm	17 ± 0.18 f	6 ± 0.09 e	4.0 ± 0.01 b	51.20 ± 0.90 g	9.03 ± 0.11 b
CTG-10 cm	18 ± 0.09 e	7 ± 0.04 d	4.0 ± 0.02 b	70.30 ± 1.40 c	7.70 ± 0.01 e
CTG-15 cm	22 ± 0.07 a	10 ± 0.06 a	4.5 ± 0.04 a	71.01 ± 1.01 b	7.51 ± 0.04 f
CP-5 cm	16 ± 0.06 g	6 ± 0.06 e	3.5 ± 0.04 c	45.92 ± 2.04 ı	9.28 ± 0.03 b
CP-10 cm	18 ± 0.10 e	6 ± 0.03 e	4.0 ± 0.03 b	60.45 ± 1.50 d	8.01 ± 0.01 d
CP-15 cm	20 ± 0.09 c	8 ± 0.04 c	4.5 ± 0.05 a	70.26 ± 0.81 c	6.87 ± 0.05 j
WS-5 cm	16 ± 0.09 g	7 ± 0.06 d	3.0 ± 0.06 d	47.85 ± 0.75 h	8.81 ± 0.01 c
WS-10 cm	19 ± 0.80 d	8 ± 0.04 c	3.5 ± 0.02 c	59.39 ± 1.20 e	7.07 ± 0.02 h
WS-15 cm	21 ± 0.09 b	9 ± 0.03 b	4.5 ± 0.04 a	71.62 ± 0.90 a	6.00 ± 0.01 ı
Weedy	12 ± 0.06 h	4 ± 0.07 f	2.0 ± 0.03 e	29.39 ± 2.40 j	10.75 ± 0.07 a
Weed-free	18 ± 0.05 e	6 ± 0.05 e	4.0 ± 0.03 b	54.09 ± 0.50 f	7.31 ± 0.03 g
Mean	17.93 ± 0.40	6.99 ± 0.24	3.77 ± 0.11	57.39 ± 1.94	8.06 ± 0.20
F	788.373	993.649	340.909	749.541	1051.650
p-value	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**	0.000**

1** p < 0.01.

1 CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

1 Differences between means indicated by the same letter are not significant at the 0.05 level. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation.

Correlations of weed density and dry weight with other parameters. WD, weed density; WDW, weed dry weights; PH, plant height; NFPP, number of fruits per; FW, fruit weight; YPP, yield per plant; Y, yield.

Heat map of the parameters corresponding to the applications (CP, CTG and WS). CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

Applications (A) hierarchical clustering and (B) network graph analysis. CP, shredded paper; CTG, grass clippings; WS, wheat straw.

Principal component analysis of parameters and applications.

References

Authors

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2025-0008 | Journal eISSN: 2083-5965 | Journal ISSN: 0867-1761

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Language: English

Page range: 91 - 111

Submitted on: Jan 6, 2025

Accepted on: May 19, 2025

Published on: Jul 15, 2025

Published by: Polish Society for Horticultural Sciences (PSHS)

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

Keywords:

grass,

paper,

straw,

Related subjects:

© 2025 Ramazan Gurbuz, Serkan Cağlar, Harun Alptekın, Volkan Okatan, İbrahim Kahramanoğlu, published by Polish Society for Horticultural Sciences (PSHS)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 37 (2025): Issue 1 (July 2025)

The effect of different mulch materials with varying thicknesses on weed control and yield in eggplant cultivation

Figures & Tables

Table 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Figure 1.

Table 5.

Table 6.

Table 7.

Table 8.

Table 9.

Table 10.

Table 11.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

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