Boosting Inpago 13 Rice Yield through Mulch Innovation: A Pathway to Enhancing Yield Performance of Inpago 13

The increasing global population continues to elevate food demand and intensify the strain on essential natural resources such as arable land and water. Optimizing agricultural practices to enhance productivity is crucial to achieving sustainable food security. This study explores the importance of different organic and synthetic types of mulch on the growth and yield of upland rice (Inpago 13) cultivated in dryland areas. The experimental design utilized a randomized block design featuring six mulch treatments: absence of mulch, straw mulch, geowoven mulch, black-silver plastic mulch, silver-silver plastic mulch, and white plastic mulch. The findings indicated that mulching significantly enhanced agronomic traits such as tiller number, leaf area, dry biomass, milled dry grain, and 1000 dry grain (P < 0.05). The black-silver plastic mulch (M3) demonstrated the most substantial positive impact, achieving the highest grain yield of 8.76 ton·ha⁻¹ and the largest leaf area (1,479.50 cm²). Compared to non-mulched treatments, plastic mulches enhanced photosynthetic performance leading to better biomass accumulation and yield efficiency. The findings underscore that mulching—especially with reflective plastic films improves physiological processes and grain yield on upland rice (inpago 13). This study highlights the potential of strategic mulch application to maximize upland rice productivity under water-limited conditions and contributes to resilient agricultural practices for future food systems.