Deterioration of Three Potentially Biodegradable Plastic Mulches Before and After Soil Incorporation in a Broccoli Field Production System in Northwestern Washington

Abstract

Three potentially biodegradable plastic mulch products, Mater-bi®-based black film (BioAgri), experimental polyhydroxyalkanoate film (Crown 1), and experimental spunbonded polylactic acid fabric (SB-PLA-11), were evaluated over two broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) growing seasons to determine deterioration before and after soil incorporation. Pretillage mulch deterioration was evaluated in both growing seasons by rating the percent visual deterioration (PVD). Crown 1 had the greatest PVD throughout the study (P ≤ 0.05) and BioAgri also had significant pretillage deterioration. SB-PLA-11 showed no appreciable deterioration based on PVD (<1.3%) in either growing season. Postincorporation mulch deterioration was measured for 13 months after rototilling at the end of the first growing season. The average fragment area of all mulch products decreased over time after soil incorporation. The number of postincorporation mulch fragments initially increased for all mulch products, with Crown 1 and BioAgri reaching maximum fragment counts 132 and 299 days after incorporation, respectively. As the number of fragments declined, the average area of fragments did not change, suggesting that a threshold fragment size may exist at which biodegradation accelerates. At the end of the study period, 397 days after soil incorporation, Crown 1 and BioAgri had deteriorated 100% and 65%, respectively; whereas SB-PLA-11 showed very little deterioration.