Feasibility of paper mulches in crop production —a review

Abstract

Mulching has become an important practice in modern field production. Plastics are the most widespread mulching materials, and especially black polyethylene is used almost everywhere due to its low price and proved positive results in production. Together with its still growing popularity, there is increasing concern about the environmental effects of using such vast amounts of plastics in agriculture without solutions for sustainable and safe disposal of the material. There have been several attempts to try to find safe and environmentally friendly alternative materials to replace plastic mulches. The use of biodegradable films is increasing because they can be left safely in the field after harvesting, but they are not very durable and are much more expensive than plastics. Another alternative is paper. This article reviews the published research on paper mulches and discusses the opportunity that they offer for solving the problems of the immense use of plastics in agriculture and the associated environmental threat. Different mulching materials have been used for different agricultural and horticultural species in different climatic environments, and results vary according to the chosen approach, growing practices, conditions and species, so generalizations are hard to make. One advantage of paper mulches is that they do not create the disposal problems that plastic films always and partially degradable bio-films often do in long-term use. Paper mulches break down naturally after usage and incorporate into the soil. Laying paper mulches in large scale farming is a problem to be solved. The quality of the paper needs to be adapted or improved for mulching purposes, and its price needs to be more competitive with that of plastic mulches. The review shows that there is considerable potential for using paper mulches in agriculture and horticulture.

Efficiency of a novel biodegradable pyrolysis liquid‐amended mulch in weed control

“…These findings suggest that PLM can act as an insulation layer and thereby dampen the day‐night fluctuation of soil temperatures. Consistent with our results, Moreno and Moreno (2008) reported lower soil temperature under biodegradable film mulch than under traditional polyethylene mulch and Kader (2016) and Haapala et al (2014) measured lower temperatures under paper mulches than under black plastic mulching or without mulching. It thus appears that light permeability and changes in soil temperature below PLM resemble those under other biodegradable films.…”

“…Finally, whether the effects of mulching on soil temperature are beneficial for the growth of crop plants – and also on seed germination and seedling growth of weeds – depends on the climate and plant type. In some regions, farmers should lower and in others increase soil temperatures for a higher yield (Haapala et al , 2014).…”

Adoption of biodegradable mulching films in agriculture: is there a negative prejudice towards materials derived from organic wastes?

“…A number of studies have recently analysed the agronomic and environmental performance of paper mulch (Martin-Closas et al, 2003;Moreno et al, 2013;Haapala et al, 2014), polyethylene with additives for degradation or biodegradable films (Filippi et al, 2011;Saraiva et al, 2012;Benincasa et al, 2014). By conducting field experiments, these studies showed that these potential substitutes of conventional films offer the advantage of degrading into non-toxic components.…”

Black Polyethylene Mulch Doubled Tomato Yield in a Low-input System in Arid Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Region

“…Black polyethylene mulch (BPM) has been widely used in production of fresh-market field tomatoes. Polyethylene have excellent mechanical properties, light weight and relatively low price 3 . Beneficial responses of tomatoes to BPM include higher yield, earlier production and better fruit quality.…”