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| A study by the Diverfarming project looks at interactions between 38 pesticides and three types of mulch plastics | A team of researchers from the universities of Wageningen and Politécnica de Cartagena who participate in the European project Diverfarming, led by the UPCT, has analyzed in laboratory conditions how 38 pesticides interact with plastics such as those used in intensive agriculture, finding that the decomposition of the active substances in the presence of plastic was 30% lower than when there is no plastic involved.
While a similar study had previously been done on LDPE plastics, it is the first time it has been analyzed on PAC and biodegradable plastics.The use of plastic mulch (plastic cover over crop lines) is a very widespread technique in agricultural regions that is used to increase the profitability of crops.
According to the European Commission, 100,000 tonnes of plastic mulch were used per year in the European Union in 2016.
Taking into account these figures and the fact that after the harvest there are usually traces of plastic on the ground, the accumulation of plastic in areas of intensive agriculture is an environmental problem that worries the sector and public administrations.Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most widely used plastic for padding and, in turn, the one that takes the longest to degrade.
For this reason, other types of plastics have been created, such as 'oxo-degradable' (PAC), which are those that contain pro-oxidant additives that improve degradation in the presence of sunlight or biodegradable plastics, those that can be degraded by microorganisms ground.As in many cases pesticides are used to treat crops that are in mulch, the Diverfarming project has analyzed the interaction of these plastics with 38 pesticides under laboratory conditions.
After analyzing the sorption process (retention of one substance by another when in contact) of the 38 active principles of 17 insecticides, 15 fungicides and 6 herbicides commonly used with plastic mulch in the Region of Murcia with the three types of plastics, it was seen how bio plastics have a higher percentage of sorption of pesticides.
On average, the sorption percentage was 23% in LDPE and PAC and 50% in Bio.For one of the researchers of the project, Nicolas Beriot, the results lead to two worrying hypotheses: “The microorganisms responsible for degrading these biodegradable plastics could be contaminated and the efficiency of the pesticides would also be compromised since the substances that remain in plastics are not available in the soil to perform their function ”.
Thus, the modification of the degradation patterns of the active substances could affect the community of soil organisms due to the toxicity of the active substances.This laboratory study opens the doors to new investigations on the ground to verify how it affects both in terms of soil contamination and delay in the degradation capacity of plastics.The Diverfarming project seeks a paradigm shift in European agriculture towards a more environmentally and economically sustainable agriculture through the diversification of crops and the reduction of inputs such as pesticides.
In this way, it helps to avoid contamination situations such as that posed by the interaction between plastics and pesticides.Recently, another scientific article by researchers from the European project Diverfarming demonstrated the presence of microplastics in 92% of the feces of sheep that are fed in areas of intensive agriculture in the Murcia region.Diverfarming is a project funded by the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Commission, within the challenge of "Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and bioeconomy" under agreement 728003 in which the Polytechnic Universities participate.
from Cartagena and Córdoba (Spain), Tuscia (Italy), Exeter and Portsmouth (United Kingdom), Wageningen (Netherlands), Trier (Germany), Pècs (Hungary) and ETH Zurich (Switzerland), the research centers Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria (Italy), the Higher Council for Scientific Research (Spain) and the Institute of Natural Resources LUKE (Finland), the agricultural organization ASAJA and the companies Casalasco and Barilla (Italy), Arento , LogísticaDFM and Industrias David (Spain),Nieuw Bromo Van Tilburg and Ekoboerdeij de Lingehof (Netherlands), Weingut Dr.
Frey (Germany), Nedel-Market KFT and Gere (Hungary) and Paavolan Kotijuustola and Polven Juustola (Finland).
Source: UPCT
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