**7. Mulching and its impact on crop production**

Mulching is a strategy for enhancing soil conditions that involve covering the soil surface with various materials. It involves covering the soil around the plants' root zone to protect the roots from an adverse effect of the micro-climate. Mulching has become a popular agricultural practice not just for its immediate economic benefits, such as improved yields, earlier harvests, better fruit quality, and less water usage, but also for its increased soil microbial performance. Mulching creates an environment for the plant to perform at its best as it improves soil temperature, conserves soil moisture, reduces weed pressure and certain insect pests, and makes more efficient use of soil nutrients, among other benefits [27]. The use of mulch reduces the impact of raindrops on the soil surface [28, 29]; thereby, improving the hydrothermal regime of the soil and soil physical properties such as texture, porosity, and infiltration rate.

#### **7.1 Types of mulching**

The mulching materials can either be organic or synthetic (**Figure 5**).

