Mulch Continued from Page 7
infiltration, the capacityof soil for nutrient exchange, crop growth, and contribute to terrestrial andmarinepollution. But these concerns are really for non-degradable plasticmulches growers currentlyuse, not BDMs, given their biodegradable nature. Optimal selection of BDM and man- aging it, so that it doesn’t degrade too fast or too slowly, is an important part of DeVetter’s research. “That’s one area where a lot of the re- search is: What’s the optimal BDM for
given production system?”DeVetter said. Another consideration is climate and soils.Washingtonandsomeareasalongthe California coast have cooler soils, so bio- degradation occurs at amuch slower rate than states withwarmer soil conditions. DeVetter is looking at ways to promote biodegradation faster in colder soils. “Use of cover cropping or application of amendments likecompostororganicacids might stimulatemicroorganisms to break
down theBDMmuch faster,” she said. “The other nut we have to crack is this problem with the organic,” Bolda said, adding that organic growers, in particular, are most interested in BDMs because their customers are very envi- ronmentally conscious. The National Organics Standard Board has several concernsabout thebiodegrad- able mulches, one being biobased con- tent. Biodegradablemulchhas tobe 100% biobased, andrightnowthebiobasedcon- tent ranges from20%to60%,DeVetter said. Manufacturers can’t make it 100% biobased without driving up the cost that is already considerably more expensive andpossibly changing the filmproperties, DeVetter said. The national standards board is also concerned with how BDM is made and whether it really will biodegrade. “That’s where more research needs to bedone, and that’swhatweandother col- laborating labs are working on,” DeVetter said. “What we really want is biodegrada- tion where a microorganism consumes it, and then it becomes either part of their biomass or is released as CO2.” Even though theBDMdoes costmore— almost double compared to other plastic mulch—the time savings of not having to removeitandhaul it tothedumpmorethan makesup for the initial cost, Krone said. Some economic studies have shown substantial labor savings with BDMs, but that varies on the production systemand the state. For instance, in some states, la- bor is less expensive andmulch disposal is much easier compared to California, where labor and the disposal of film is muchmore expensive, DeVetter said. Some areas also recycle the plastic, but it’s challenging. DeVetter is working with experts on waste management because she said in the long run the more tools growers have, the better. DeVetter said she also has concerns with contamination. “When you remove a plastic, it’s em- bossed, and it holds a lot of soil particles, andarecycling facilityhasahardtimehan- dling that waste,” she said, so it has to be decontaminated. The other concern she said she has is when the plastic mulch is removed from the field. “When I lookat the amount of soil that’s removed and you think about year after year of plastic mulch removal, is that sig- nificant?” she said, adding she doesn’t know, but she wants to domore research on that, too. DeVetterhasappliedforaresearchgrant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and if she receives it, shewould be collab- orating with other researchers across the U.S. to work on improving management options for agriculture plastic mulch in strawberry systemswitha focusonmulch. Boldasaidhisgoal over thenext 10years is tohaveabout half the industryusing this biodegradablemulch. (Kathy Coatne y i s a repor t e r in Bend, Oregon. She may be contacted at kacoatney@gmail.com.)
What farmers need is once the BDM is incorporated into the soil, that it breaks downrapidly, because fields in theCentral Coast turn over really quickly, Bolda said. Another concern are the little pieces of plastic left behind after it is removed. That could affect seeding, the quality of the soil andtheabilitytopreparethesoil,Boldasaid. DeVetteragreedthataccumulatingpiec- es of plastic in the soil could affect water
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