Mulches/mulching Envirocare additives

Figure 3 shows failure data for samples of a transparent LLDPE mulch film formulated with Envirocare additives and exposed in a circulating air oven at 50°C. Failure was taken as the point of embrittlement of the film it can be varied by choosing the appropriate amount of additive and can be accelerated significantly and controllably. 

Figure 5. Embrittlement times for 25 nm LLDPE transparent mulch film with six different Envirocare additives exposed outdoors in soil contact in Pontecchio Marconi, Italy (110 kLy yr ). Data are times (dark bars) and absorbed energy (light bars) for embrittlement.

Figure 6. Embrittlement and disappearance times for 25 pm transparent LLDPE mulch films with four Envirocare additives exposed in soil contact in Bologna, Italy (110 kLy yf ).

Mulch films containing Envirocare additives have been tested extensively in field trials in different countries and for different crops. Successful results have been obtained for instance, in the following applications ... 

Field trials of films with longer required lifetime are ongoing for crops like strawberries (6-10 months), pineapple (10 months), tomato (6 months) and watermelon (6 months). In addition to mulch films, other agricultural applications where the use of Envirocare additive is beneficial have been identified. Hence field trials are running in solarization films, small tunnel films, seeding bags and banana bags. 

To model the complexity of real life conditions, films were laid on plastic boxes filled with soil, one part of the film being exposed to the light and another being covered by the soil. The boxes were exposed outdoors in Pontecchio Marconi (BO), Italy. This set-up simulates mulch film applications and allows the monitoring of the film degradation both on the surface and under the soil. The contribution of different parameters, like different additive systems based on Envirocare , different pigments and different film thickness has been evaluated. 

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