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Advantages of biodegradable mulch film
Processing tomato cultivation in Navarra is about 2,000 ha. In 2018, due to a lower profitability, the planted surface was down at 1 840 ha. This crop is 10% of the regions’ total produce output and tomato processing the main crop to use mulch film.
But conventional mulch film is not compatible with mechanical harvesting. As producers in Navarra region explain, there have been biodegradable solutions for several years, which are really effective: “We started off with traditional plastic, then we have been using biodegradable Mater-Bi film for about fourteen years, and we have stuck with it. We use biodegradable mulch to grow tomatoes, but also bell peppers, pumpkins and courgettes – I have to say I wouldn’t go back to conventional mulching. Traditional plastic caused all sorts of problems. During harvest, the harvesting machine would often get clogged up, plastic would build up on conveyor belt, so we have to stop everything, to remove it, and then after harvest, when it is time to get rid of both plants residues and plastic, we would find it scattered all over the place in tiny fragments, which made it practically impossible to collect mechanically, so we had to proceed manually, which was very expensive – and anyway, residues got left in the soil. The biodegradable material, with the work we do, generally disappears on its own. Once the harvest is over, dying plants are removed and we start working on the soil – there is practically no residue of biodegradable film. Moreover, it doesn’t cause any trouble during mechanized mulch laying”, said Miguelangel Los Arcs Diaz, who grows 60 ha of processing tomato for cooperative Santiago Apostol.
But conventional mulch film is not compatible with mechanical harvesting. As producers in Navarra region explain, there have been biodegradable solutions for several years, which are really effective: “We started off with traditional plastic, then we have been using biodegradable Mater-Bi film for about fourteen years, and we have stuck with it. We use biodegradable mulch to grow tomatoes, but also bell peppers, pumpkins and courgettes – I have to say I wouldn’t go back to conventional mulching. Traditional plastic caused all sorts of problems. During harvest, the harvesting machine would often get clogged up, plastic would build up on conveyor belt, so we have to stop everything, to remove it, and then after harvest, when it is time to get rid of both plants residues and plastic, we would find it scattered all over the place in tiny fragments, which made it practically impossible to collect mechanically, so we had to proceed manually, which was very expensive – and anyway, residues got left in the soil. The biodegradable material, with the work we do, generally disappears on its own. Once the harvest is over, dying plants are removed and we start working on the soil – there is practically no residue of biodegradable film. Moreover, it doesn’t cause any trouble during mechanized mulch laying”, said Miguelangel Los Arcs Diaz, who grows 60 ha of processing tomato for cooperative Santiago Apostol.
According to Novamont, who produces the Mater-Bi biodegradable mulch, its film not only increases environmental sustainability, but also overcomes the technical problems of conventional plastic film with mechanical harvesting. With Mater-Bi mulch film the benefits are multiple. At this time, there is nothing that could replace the environmental and cost efficiencies found in using Mater-bi Biodegradable mulch films.
Source: Freshplaza, Novamont
Some complementary data
For more information: www.materbi.com/en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YblBCxlTe-E
