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Growers to trial alternatives to plastic for veg production
Research news
Monday 09 September 2019
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Farmers and growers are invited to explore alternatives to plastic mulch for weed control in a new field lab with Innovative Farmers.
The farmer-led trial will kick-off with a meeting on 26 September, which is open to any interested UK farmer or grower.
Growers are often reliant on plastic films to control weeds, but concern about their impact on the environment and soil when they degrade is growing.
Working with researchers at Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR), growers will design a practical on-farm trial to test alternatives, such as biodegradable and non-plastic films.
Farmers and growers face a big challenge when it comes to finding non-plastic mulches that really work for both farmers and the environment. Farmer-led research is critical to the much-needed exploration of sustainable alternatives. We are hopeful that by testing biodegradable and non-plastic materials in real-life on-farm, this field lab will identify whether more environmentally friendly and practical solutions exist.
Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture at the Soil Association
The field lab will be facilitated by the not-for-profit network Innovative Farmers, which enables farmer-led research, and it will build on plot trials done by CAWR at Coventry University.
These trials, carried out as part of the EU funded project Organic-PLUS, have indicated that the biodegradable alternatives will be as effective as plastic – with the added benefit that they don’t need removal after harvest.
The field lab will put these indications to the test in real-farm settings, and the wider Organic-PLUS project is also investigating the full life-cycle of the various materials to give a complete picture of their environmental impact.
This area of research is important for all production systems as we try to reduce plastic pollution and move towards truly sustainable growing systems. The Organic-PLUS team is excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Innovative Farmers and work with a range of growers in real-life farming situations.
Dr Francis Rayns from CAWR
