Production and Evaluation of Agricultural Biodegradable Mulch through Heat and Moisture Distribution in Soil

Hassan SADRNİA,Mohammad SHAHABİ,Mehdi KHOJASTEHPOUR

doi:10.15832/ankutbd.703752

Abstract

The need to increase agricultural production in proportion to population growth and water crisis management requires initiatives that can increase the quantity and quality of crops by using soil moisture storage methods while preserving the environment. According to problem presented, in order to simulate the temperature, humidity and radiation of the farm environment, a control system, along with laboratory facilities were designed and constructed. Then, the production and evaluation of different types of soil mulches from biodegradable and petroleum polymers were performed by aiming investigate the effect of these soil mulches on soil temperature and moisture at different depths. Produced mulches were placed in a laboratory soil bed. The average molecular weight, the gel content and the percentage of elongation at the breakpoint for biodegradable mulches were 4906.56 g mol-1, 4.68% and 4.63%, respectively and the mean values of tensile strength and the percentage of elongation before the ultraviolet aging process were 13.41MPa and 396.71%, respectively. Acceptable values of statistical indicators were calculated with the response surface method. In conclusion of the soil temperature and humidity changes for different types of mulch, the velocity of temperature rise is reduced in deep levels due to the resistance made by soil moisture. The amount of moisture reduction for dark and uncoated mulch by moving from surface to depth was far more when compared to other mulches, and there was no significant change at the depth of transparent mulches.

Highlights

The need to increase agricultural production in proportion to population growth and water crisis management requires initiatives that can increase the quantity and quality of crops by using soil moisture storage methods while preserving the environment
An accurate assessment for the relative amount of materials with higher molecular weight, which has a high contribution in the physical properties of polymer, was measured by the weighted average of Mw
Considering that the evaluation of the efficiency of soil mulches in open fields requires a great deal of time, the method presented in this research and the design of the laboratory environment and the response surface method can significantly reduce the time and energy demanded to achieve the results

Summary

Introduction

The need to increase agricultural production in proportion to population growth and water crisis management requires initiatives that can increase the quantity and quality of crops by using soil moisture storage methods while preserving the environment. For better performance of agricultural products, the approximate temperature in soil was changed from 25 to 32 °C, and it is recommended to apply 8 and 15 °C for increasing the root thickness (Tindall et al 1991). Considering the increasing environmental pollution and the depletion of fossil resources, a growing number studies over the past few years have attempted to replace synthetic plastics derived from petroleum compounds with plastics made from renewable sources. This product was developed in the early 1980`s with starch-based compounds and fat polyesters (such as poly hydroxy butyrate or polyacetate) (Zhang et al 2008). Despite the fact that the mechanical properties of the destructive mulch were reduced after only five months, they met the farms functional requirements and became known as a suitable substitute for polyethylene in grape fields (Touchaleaume et al 2016)

Methods

Results

Conclusion