OGA Webinar: Biodegradable plastic film mulches and other alternatives

The webinar will start off with Martin presenting his results on the agronomic and environmental impacts of biodegradable PFM. Francis and Judith will then talk about thematerials involved, the persistent questions about their biodegradability and the long-term impact on soils and the wider environment, their acceptability in certified organic systemsand research into alternatives. Finally, Martin will talk about the practical aspects of using biodegradable PFM from his experience as a grower and how to optimise its performance.

About the speakers

Francis Rayns and Judith Conroy currently work at the Centre of Agroecology Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University. As researchers on the Organic-PLUS project(concerned with a variety of contentious inputs in organic agriculture) they conducted field trials in a vegetable system to compare the performance of biodegradable and conventional plastic mulches with alternatives that could be sourced on-farm.

Martin Samphire was an organic grower in Carmarthenshire for 12 years; the growing system he developed made extensive use of biodegradable PFM. He first examined its use in his business during an MSc in organic farming at SRUC, which demonstrated its usefulness. However, his reading of the literature on its use raised a number of questions about its impact on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles and the potential impact on global warming. This led him to carry out further research with a PhD at Bangor University, conducting field experiments on his own growing site in south Wales.

Host or Publisher Organic Growers Alliance