These videos introduce biodegradable plastic mulches, showing how they are used from installation to till down and what is happening in the soil when the mulches are bio-degrading. Other video products here introduce the USDA SCRI project, Performance and Adoptability of Biodegradable Mulch for Sustainable Specialty Crop Production, and the methods the project team is using to assess degradation and producers’ perceptions of the products.
About Biodegradable Mulch
What Are Biodegradable Mulches? —
Coming soon. This video introduces biodegradable mulches: what they're made of, how their use differs from traditional plastic mulches, and what benefits they might offer. An
Extension fact sheet is available is also available.
Biodegradable Mulch Installation and Till Down — This video shows installation of biodegradable mulches, a process nearly identical to the laying of traditional black plastic (polyethylene) mulch. Also, see the mulch tilled into the soil using standard rototilling equipment.
What Happens to Biodegradable Mulch In the Soil? — Coming soon.
This animation shows the processes through which a biodegradable mulch
is broken into its constituents -- carbon and water -- when it degrades
in the soil.
About the Biodegradable Mulch Project
An Introduction to "Performance and Adoptability of Biodegradable Plastic Mulch for Sustainable Specialty Crop Production" — This video provides an overview of the USDA SCRI project, conducted jointly by the University of Tennessee, Washington State University, and Montana State University. A
text overview is also available.
Focus on Soils — Learn from a soil physicist, soil microbiologist and soil chemist how they are assessing whether and how biodegradable plastic mulchs affect soil health. This video introduces the work of the Soil Ecology group of the "Performance and Adoptability of Biodegradable Plastic Mulch for Sustainable Specialty Crop Production" project.