Replacing plastic with paper can eliminate the estimated 300,000 tons of polymers used in crops each year. In agriculture, this material is present in countless uses; from hoses to greenhouses, plant supports or mulching. This last technique accounts for 50% of the use of agricultural plastics, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Thanks to it, plantations are protected from weeds and pests, soil moisture and temperature are preserved, and nutrient absorption is helped.
The project Life Agropaper It started a couple of years ago with the intention precisely of developing a paper material that could be used for quilting. The project, which has had European funding and has just concluded, has brought together several organizations: from the Center for Soil Science and Applied Biology of Segura (CEBAS), belonging to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), to the Spanish Society of Organic Agriculture and Agroecology (SEAE) and companies such as Smurfit Kappa or Florette.
During this time, a padding made from plant fibers (cellulose) has been tested, which is also biodegradable. Installed in the field, paper mulch helps plants grow in the best conditions and, once its function has been performed, decomposes and incorporates as organic matter to the soil, increasing its capacity to sequester carbon. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on the microorganisms present in the soil. “It provides organic carbon from cellulose, which helps to improve both the carbon footprint and the issue of zero waste and water footprint,” they say from Florette.
Protected shoots
And the salad production giant (they make 150,000 salads every day) has tested this solution on their own crops, which they claim is perfect, especially during the summer. “In winter, it is true that plastic helps maintain heat very well, but we continue researching this alternative to replace biodegradable plastic or conventional padding,” comments Javier Les, director of Innovation and Quality and Sustainability at Florette since cultivation field that the company has in Milagro (Navarra).
In the 70 hectares of Milagro they cultivate 60 different species of vegetables, most of them outdoors, but a part is dedicated to the protected production of all types of sprouts.
The leaves are raised under large tents and then packaged to supermarkets throughout the Peninsula. Actually that only happens here during one time of the year, because Navarra is one of the three locations where sprouts are grown, in addition to Murcia and the Canary Islands. In each place it is produced at the most favorable time of the year and its destination is only the Iberian market, to “ensure the freshness of this very perishable product. It is collected at dawn and processed at temperatures that They remain between 1 and 4 degrees all the time so that the cold chain is not broken,” they say from the company.
In these crops everything is controlled to the millimeter: irrigation is monitored so that the plant receives only the water they need. When sowing, the seed is covered with a thermal blanket so that it all germinates at the same time and thus saves water. In addition, up to 50% of irrigation comes from rain collected in a large pool and in the production center, water is recovered from the leaf drying tunnels. As they are covered, crops only use natural fertilizers and no chemical pesticides are used. Instead they have insect hotels or pheromone traps.
Once cut, the plants go to the production center for washing, preparation and packaging, where they do not remain more than a few hours until they leave for the stores. The company, by the way, also combats the use of plastic in these centers, for example, the packaging has reduced its weight both in bags and in salads and is committed to monomaterials to simplify recycling.
Keep innovating
In addition to Life Agropaper, the brand also participates in a wide variety of projects to improve production and reduce impacts, from the use of microorganisms to preserve the soil to the installation of photovoltaic plants for self-consumption.
One of these projects is Farmitank – it has also just concluded. It has been tested hydroponic vertical growing. In a cylinder 6 m in diameter and 16 meters high, a cultivation area of 312 square meters is achieved, where lettuce, aromatic herbs or micro-sprouts have been raised to compare the results with traditional crops in soil and see possible advantages or disadvantages. such as saving water or using electricity.