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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...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2022
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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. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9740682 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
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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