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Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends

The application of mulch films for preserving soil moisture and preventing weed growth has been a part of agricultural practice for decades. Different materials have been used as mulch films, but polyethylene plastic has been considered most effective due to its excellent mechanical strength, low co...

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Autores principales: Mansoor, Zinnia, Tchuenbou-Magaia, Fideline, Kowalczuk, Marek, Adamus, Grazyna, Manning, Georgina, Parati, Mattia, Radecka, Iza, Khan, Habib
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9740682/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36501456
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym14235062
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author Mansoor, Zinnia
Tchuenbou-Magaia, Fideline
Kowalczuk, Marek
Adamus, Grazyna
Manning, Georgina
Parati, Mattia
Radecka, Iza
Khan, Habib
author_facet Mansoor, Zinnia
Tchuenbou-Magaia, Fideline
Kowalczuk, Marek
Adamus, Grazyna
Manning, Georgina
Parati, Mattia
Radecka, Iza
Khan, Habib
author_sort Mansoor, Zinnia
collection PubMed
description The application of mulch films for preserving soil moisture and preventing weed growth has been a part of agricultural practice for decades. Different materials have been used as mulch films, but polyethylene plastic has been considered most effective due to its excellent mechanical strength, low cost and ability to act as a barrier for sunlight and water. However, its use carries a risk of plastic pollution and health hazards, hence new laws have been passed to replace it completely with other materials over the next few years. Research to find out about new biodegradable polymers for this purpose has gained impetus in the past few years, driven by regulations and the United Nations Organization’s Sustainable Development Goals. The primary requisite for these polymers is biodegradability under natural climatic conditions without the production of any toxic residual compounds. Therefore, biodegradable polymers developed from fossil fuels, microorganisms, animals and plants are viable options for using as mulching material. However, the solution is not as simple since each polymer has different mechanical properties and a compromise has to be made in terms of strength, cost and biodegradability of the polymer for its use as mulch film. This review discusses the history of mulching materials, the gradual evolution in the choice of materials, the process of biodegradation of mulch films, the regulations passed regarding material to be used, types of polymers that can be explored as potential mulch films and the future prospects in the area.
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spelling pubmed-97406822022-12-11 Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends Mansoor, Zinnia Tchuenbou-Magaia, Fideline Kowalczuk, Marek Adamus, Grazyna Manning, Georgina Parati, Mattia Radecka, Iza Khan, Habib Polymers (Basel) Review The application of mulch films for preserving soil moisture and preventing weed growth has been a part of agricultural practice for decades. Different materials have been used as mulch films, but polyethylene plastic has been considered most effective due to its excellent mechanical strength, low cost and ability to act as a barrier for sunlight and water. However, its use carries a risk of plastic pollution and health hazards, hence new laws have been passed to replace it completely with other materials over the next few years. Research to find out about new biodegradable polymers for this purpose has gained impetus in the past few years, driven by regulations and the United Nations Organization’s Sustainable Development Goals. The primary requisite for these polymers is biodegradability under natural climatic conditions without the production of any toxic residual compounds. Therefore, biodegradable polymers developed from fossil fuels, microorganisms, animals and plants are viable options for using as mulching material. However, the solution is not as simple since each polymer has different mechanical properties and a compromise has to be made in terms of strength, cost and biodegradability of the polymer for its use as mulch film. This review discusses the history of mulching materials, the gradual evolution in the choice of materials, the process of biodegradation of mulch films, the regulations passed regarding material to be used, types of polymers that can be explored as potential mulch films and the future prospects in the area. MDPI 2022-11-22 /pmc/articles/PMC9740682/ /pubmed/36501456 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym14235062 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Mansoor, Zinnia
Tchuenbou-Magaia, Fideline
Kowalczuk, Marek
Adamus, Grazyna
Manning, Georgina
Parati, Mattia
Radecka, Iza
Khan, Habib
Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends
title Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends
title_full Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends
title_fullStr Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends
title_full_unstemmed Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends
title_short Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends
title_sort polymers use as mulch films in agriculture—a review of history, problems and current trends
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9740682/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36501456
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym14235062
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