Two trials in different agricultural farms were carried out from October 2014 to June 2015 with the aim to assess the advantages linked to the substitution of the low density polyethylene (LDPE) films for soil mulching with the Mater-Bi ® biodegradable films in the strawberry cultivation under tunnel in Campania. Lifetime of biodegradable mulch and influence of type of mulch on the yield and the quality of cvs Sabrina and Fortuna were evaluated. Plants were cultivated on mulched, raised beds, high 40 cm from bottom soil. Mater-Bi ® film was 20 μm thick while LDPE film was 50 μm thick. The physical-chemical parameters (firmness, pH, total soluble solid content, titratable acidity and skin colour) and some bioactive compounds (total polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, antioxidant activity) of fruits were determined by three samplings effected in consecutive months (from March to May 2015) of the harvest cycle. Biodegradable film guaranteed an effective mulch along the whole strawberry cycle (9-10 months including the time of drawing up of film). Yields of cv Sabrina on LDPE was 18% higher than those on Mater-Bi ® while the opposite was detected in cv Fortuna (+10%). The physical-chemical parameters of fruits were not modified by the mulches. The content of the bioactive compounds, instead, resulted, in each time of sampling, significantly higher in fruits picked on Mater-Bi ® based film.
The effects of mulching films on the profiles of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from two strawberry cultivars, namely Elide and Sabrina, were evaluated by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). Strawberries were grown on two biodegradable mulching films, named N5 and N18, in comparison to black polyethylene (PE). PCA models, separately performed on the VOCs dataset of the two cultivars, showed that the observations for each of the three mulching films lie in corresponding regions of the PCA plot, suggesting that the mulching films represented the main source of data variation, and hence, the variability of the VOCs profile induced by the mulching films overcame the cv-related one. For both the cultivars, a higher number of VOCs with a positive impact on the “sweet” taste sensation and consumers’ preference were positively correlated with strawberries produced on the biodegradable films compared to PE. However, there was an interaction between the type of cultivar and the mulches, as Elide responded better to N18 and N5 mulching films, while Sabrina responded better only to N18. Altogether, these results could contribute to assessing the effects of mulching type on putative volatile markers of the desirable sensory perception and consumers’ acceptability of strawberries.
In the main strawberry areas of Southern Italy, cultivation is carried out by transplanting plants on raised beds (30–40 cm from ground level), mulched with black polyethylene (PE). This technique has becoming increasingly expensive due to the growing prices of plastic mulches, the cost to remove them at the end of crop cycle, and the difficulty to dispose of black, dirty plastic films. The main objective of this research was the replacement of PE mulch with a new biodegradable mulching film Mater-Bi®-based (Novamont), characterized by an increased permanence in the field designed for long crop life. In 2021, two Mater-Bi-based, black, 18 μm thick mulching films were tested under tunnel: N5 as innovative film and N18 as commercial standard film. Black PE film, 50 μm thick was the control. Strawberry cultivars ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Elide’ were cropped on the three mulching films according to a split plot design with four replications. Harvests lasted from March to June 2021. Cvs Sabrina and Elide yielded around 40 t ha−1, while the mean effect of mulching films did not point out differences between the biodegradable mulches and PE. In 4 out of 12 harvests we analyzed samples of fruits to assess the influence of mulches on the contents of °Brix, polyphenols, antioxidant activity, ascorbic acid, flavonoids, and anthocyanins. On average, °Brix was clearly improved in fruits on PE compared to biodegradable films, while all the other qualitative traits resulted in being more dependent on the cultivars and times of sampling effects. Overall, biodegradable mulches are a viable alternative to PE mulch, and the innovative N5 film appeared promising for the enhancement of durability of soil coverage in a long-lasting cycle.
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