Transcript Biodegradable Plastic Mulches for Specialty Crop Production

Biodegradable Plastic Mulches
for Specialty Crop Production
Closing Remarks
ASHS Colloquium, August 1, 2011, Miami, FL
With special thanks…
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Colloquium speakers
ASHS organizers
USDA AFRI SCRI program
Audience participants
SCRI-SREP project team on
Biodegradable Mulches for Specialty Crops
Produced Under Protective Covers
(Ref. No. 2009-02484)
Biodegradable mulches…
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Agriculture has the opportunity to take a
leadership role in:
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Product development
Product break-down
Product standards
Versatility in field applications
Alternative methods of disposal
Environmental impacts
Consumer awareness
Trans-disciplinary approaches will continue to be
critically important in future research & extension efforts
Crops:
Entomologists
Horticulturists
Plant pathologists
Weed scientists
Materials:
Biosystems engineers
Chemical engineers
Polymer scientists
Textile scientists
Socio-Economic:
Economists
Sociologists
Soils:
Env. Biophysicists
Soil chemists
Soil ecologists
Soil microbiologists
Unique partnerships will continue to be
critically important in future research & extension efforts
Mulch users
(growers/others)
Mulch
manufacturers
Mulch distributors
Non-biased information will continue to be critically
important in future research & extension efforts
Nat’l
outreach
Performance
across diverse
environments
Establishment of standards
Future Biodegradable Mulch topics…
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Meeting organic production requirements
Setting standards for biodegradation, in soil and
in composting
Understanding the risks and benefits of carbon
emissions during microbial break-down
Unexpected, new, and versatile uses
Using ‘targeted’ microbial degraders