Agriculture Research Awardee 2025

Farmers around the world use mulching to protect crops, suppress weeds, save water, and improve soil health. For decades, plastic films, especially polyethylene, have been the most common mulching material because they are inexpensive and effective. However, these plastic mulches are neither recyclable nor biodegradable after use. Therefore, farmers must remove them from soil, a process that is both labour-intensive and polluting the soil by microplastics. Ultimately, the plastic mulches are going to landfilling or on-site burning, which is a major concern for the environment. A replacement of such plastic mulch is required to save our soil and the environment. In this regard, we started working towards developing a degradable mulch using kraft paper. However, in comparison to polyethylene, paper is poor in both strength and water-repelling properties. To improve those properties, we developed a degradable coating material that can be easily coated on the paper and the coated paper showed significant improvement in both strength and water repelling. The coated paper was successful to function as mulch for short duration (2-3 months) crops. The paper need not be removed after crop season as it gradually degrades and mixes with the soil. With the Sree Ramakrishna Research Grant 2025, we will work towards improving the performance of this paper, optimizing its cost, and other aspects like its commercialization, for sustainable and environment-friendly mulching.