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Using plastic mulch or new technology

May 27, 2021
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    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

    Beyond the Yield: Leveraging Agritourism and Experience-Based Revenue in Modern Agriculture

    Beyond the Yield: Leveraging Agritourism and Experience-Based Revenue in Modern Agriculture

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    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

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    Weathering the Storm: How Vietnamese Farmers and Traders Collaborate to Stabilize the Greens Market

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    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

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    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

    Beyond the Yield: Leveraging Agritourism and Experience-Based Revenue in Modern Agriculture

    Beyond the Yield: Leveraging Agritourism and Experience-Based Revenue in Modern Agriculture

  • AGROTECHNOLOGY
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    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

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    Weathering the Storm: How Vietnamese Farmers and Traders Collaborate to Stabilize the Greens Market

    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

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    Yakutia Defies the Odds: Harvest Data Reveals a Surge in Arctic Agriculture

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    A Double-Edged Sword: Soaring Chinese Cabbage Imports into Zabaykalsky Bring Heightened Biosecurity Risks

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    Beyond the Field: How Cooperative-Led Education is Revolutionizing Garlic and Onion Production

    Heritage Garlic Under Threat: The Clash Between Preservation and Progress in Danyang’s Premium Garlic Project

    Heritage Garlic Under Threat: The Clash Between Preservation and Progress in Danyang’s Premium Garlic Project

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Home AGROTECHNOLOGY

Using plastic mulch or new technology

by Demin Alexey
May 27, 2021
in AGROTECHNOLOGY
0
mulch
Australian Research Organisation CSIRO has developed a sprayable biodegradable polymer mulch that can help farmers produce more, while using less water, nutrients and agrochemicals.

The new technology, named TranspiratiONal, is an environmentally-friendly alternative for agricultural plastics, such as polyethylene, often called plastic mulch. Trials have confirmed increases in crop water productivity in excess of 30 per cent, while also assisting to control weeds.

According to CSIRO there is a worldwide challenge to grow more food, using less resources. “The world’s population is growing, requiring food production to double by 2050 to feed an expected nine billion people. The need to expand our food production output is also impacting the environment through the use of fertilisers and other chemicals”, CSIRO says.

Polymer membrane

Researcher Dr Keith L. Bristow came up with the idea of a polymer membrane. “I had been doing a lot of work around the health of soils, and the interaction of water with the soil”, he says. “I went to China some time ago and was just horrified by the plastic mulch films they were using. We visited some fields where plastic was more dominant than the soil. This means the soil pores were mostly blocked and toxins were leaking into the soil and surrounding water systems.”

My view was that all farmers should be able to apply the membrane, even those in Africa using a simple hand sprayer

Dr Bristow set out to create a product that could replace the plastic mulch films. He wanted to produce a biodegradable product, that could be sprayed. “My view was that all farmers should be able to apply the membrane, even those in Africa using a simple hand sprayer or those in the US, using large mechanical machines”, he explains.

Field trials

After developing the membrane technology, CSIRO conducted several experiments and field trials in Australia. “We used big and small farm equipment and proved that our polymer membrane can be accessible to small scale farmers in developing countries and large scale highly mechanised farmers and agribusinesses in developed countries”, Dr Bristow says.

CSIRO demonstrated the sprayable technology in irrigated field plot trials in Australia using melons, tomatoes, sorghum and cotton. The trials confirmed increases in crop water productivity in excess of 30 per cent, while also assisting to control weeds.

“We‘ve got our proof of concept but we need to further finetune the polymer spray”, Dr Bristow says. “We want to make it as durable and cost effective as possible. At the moment the cost is probably higher than the plastic mulch film that is widely used.”

Release of toxins

Farmers have told Dr Bristow and his team that they would no longer use plastic mulch film if they could use a cost effective sprayable biodegradable polymer membrane. “By using a sprayable biodegradable membrane they don’t have to retrieve a deteriorating plastic mulch film during and after harvest”, Dr Bristow says. “And a lot of the plastic mulch film is still causing problems. It gets burned, which the government and community don’t like, or it goes to a waste facility. And when it breaks down into smaller fragments it releases toxins into the soil and our water systems, including, streams, rivers and groundwater below.”

The farmers in the trials were in general happy with the ability of the polymer membrane to cover the soil. Weeds were controlled and water was saved, resulting in more production. “Our aim is to maximise the transpiration and minimise the soil evaporation”, Dr Bristow emphasises.

Biodegradable

The field trials have showed a number of advantages of the polymer membrane of CSIRO over the plastic mulch films that farmers are currently using. The polymer membrane is biodegradable, and most plastic mulch films are not. This new product is sprayable. Farmers can use existing farming equipment for the application – with minor, low cost modification. The application of plastic mulch films is expensive as it requires specialist farming equipment.

Plastic mulch films can cause extreme surface temperatures. The application of the polymer membrane however moderates the soil surface temperatures. The trials showed that plastic mulch films caused seedling damage and death of plants. The use of the polymer membrane caused minimal to no damage to seedlings.

Polymer membrane safe to use

Dr Bristow and his team have made sure that the polymer membrane is safe to use. “We took samples of the soil with the polymer and of the products, for example the skin of melons”, he says. “We probably did a couple of hundred different tests. The results proved that there was nothing untoward or toxic in the product and that it is biodegradable. Farmers can just leave in the field after harvest.”

Dr Bristow would prefer to do some pre‐commercial farm trials to finetune the polymer formulation, its application and impact. He is currently talking with investors to finish the preparations for the pre-commercial trials. There is enough interest among farmers. “I get contacted every week by farmers, sometimes six times a week. People are calling me from across the world.”

Free up more than 1,000 gigalitres of water
The technology that could stop the use of plastic mulch

CSIRO explains that achieving the initial target of using 10 per cent less water with no yield loss in Australian irrigated agriculture would free up more than 1,000 gigalitres of water. “This could be used for growing additional crops and/or improving environmental flows in our waterways”, CSIRO says.

/agrotechnology/

Tags: Australiabiodegradable mulchplastic mulchpolymer sprayweeds control
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