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Evaluating Alternatives To Fossil Fuel-Derived Plastic Mulches For Weed Control In An Organic Field Vegetable System

Rayns, Francis; Conroy, Judith; Goncalves Geiger, Anya and Schmutz, Ulrich (2021) Evaluating Alternatives To Fossil Fuel-Derived Plastic Mulches For Weed Control In An Organic Field Vegetable System. Paper at: Organic World Congress 2021, Science Forum: 6th ISOFAR Conference co-organised with INRA, FiBL, Agroecology Europe, TP Organics and ITAB, Rennes, France, 8 - 10 September, 2021. [Completed]

[thumbnail of OWC2020-SCI-1033.pdf] PDF - English
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Summary

Plastic mulches are increasingly used in vegetable production systems where they are a cost effective means of weed control. However they are usually made from fossil fuel-derived plastic and so there is concern about the environmental implications of their production, use and disposal. This paper describes two trials that were conducted in the UK in 2019 under organic management to compare a durable woven polypropylene mulch, a polyethylene film mulch, two commercial GM-free corn starch biodegradable film mulches and two innovative potato starch biodegradable film mulches with weeded and unweeded controls. In the trial with onions as a test crop the weeds were very competitive and quickly overwhelmed the crop both in unweeded controls and when using mulches that were easily damaged by weeds that grew beneath them. In the trial using cabbages as the test crop the more fragile mulches were able to suppress the weeds during the critical early growth period until the plants became competitive. Plant based biodegradable film mulches have an environmental cost in terms of the inputs needed to grow, process and transport them. More research is needed to evaluate the potential of locally sourced mulch materials such wood chips from agroforestry systems and to continue to develop better biodegradable materials.


EPrint Type:Conference paper, poster, etc.
Type of presentation:Paper
Keywords:biodegradable plastic, field vegetables, mulches, weed control
Subjects:"Organics" in general
Research affiliation: International Conferences > 2021: Organic World Congress, Science Forum: 6th ISOFAR Conference co-organised with INRA, FiBL, Agroecology Europe, TP Organics and ITAB > Transitioning towards organic and sustainable food system
UK
Deposited By: rey, m. frederic
ID Code:42314
Deposited On:07 Sep 2021 13:12
Last Modified:07 Sep 2021 13:12
Document Language:English
Status:Unpublished
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted
Additional Publishing Information:A book of abstracts of papers of the Science Forum at the Organic World Congress 2021, September 8-10, Online and on-site in Rennes, France '6th ISOFAR Conference co-organised with INRA, FiBL, Agroecology Europe, TP Organics and ITAB' has been published

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