Hydrogen-Bond Organization and Porous Architecture Govern Water Transport and Germination in Cellulosic Membranes

Water scarcity in semi-arid regions threatens seed germination and early crop establishment, driving the development of biodegradable Nature-based Solutions to replace synthetic plastic mulches. Porous cellulose membranes were fabricated from rice husk (RH), banana pseudostem (BP), and sugarcane bagasse (SB) by thermo-chemical extraction and high-shear homogenization (n = 5 replicates per membrane type). Membranes were characterized by ATR-FTIR and scanning electron microscopy, confirming removal of non-cellulosic components and biogenic silica preservation in RH, and revealing biomass-dependent porous architectures linked to mechanical and transport behavior. RH produced the most compact fibrillar matrix (compressive strength: 8.16 ± 0.24 MPa; WVT: 170 ± 60 g m−2 day−1), BP an open interconnected network with superior deformability (9.83 ± 0.25% elongation) and moisture transport (WVT: 400 ± 100 g m−2 day−1), and SB the highest moisture-retention capacity (215.7 ± 15.8%). Germination assays with Brassica oleracea var. botrytis under water stress showed SB achieved the highest germination rate (90.5 ± 0.99%), confirming that sustained moisture availability governs germination more decisively than transport rate alone. Soil burial tests confirmed biodegradable behavior across all membranes (R2 ≥ 0.995; k = 0.043–0.046 day−1). These findings establish a hydrogen-bond-mediated structure–property–function framework for designing biomass-specific cellulose membranes as biodegradable solutions for water-limited agricultural systems.