Key Findings
Plants grown under Ulva lactuca-derived seaweed mulch exhibited superior growth compared to those under black polyethylene mulch or no mulch. Specifically, Italian red chicory plants showed an 18% larger leaf area than those under polyethylene and a 16% larger area than unmulched controls. Fresh weight was 32% higher than the bare-soil control and 14% higher than the polyethylene treatment.
Technical Details
The films were produced by subjecting ground seaweed powder (finer than 50 micrometers) to mild alkaline hydrolysis using 1 M ammonium hydroxide at 40 °C for 24 hours. To reduce brittleness, diglycerol was added as a plasticizer; a 20% formulation (HU_20DG) provided the optimal balance of strength and flexibility. To improve water resistance, natural rubber latex from Hevea brasiliensis was blended into the base at 10, 20, and 30 weight percent.
- Water Solubility: Films with 20% and 30% latex showed solubility values 10% and 32% lower, respectively, than those with little or no latex.
- Optical Properties: Films without latex or with 10% latex transmitted less than 5% of incident light (400–700 nm). Transmittance rose to below 15% with 20% latex and approximately 30% with 30% latex.
- Mechanicals: At 30% latex, Young’s modulus dropped to 19.6 megapascals and tensile strength fell to 2.64 megapascals, while elongation at break reached 28%.
Degradability and Performance
Soil burial tests of 20DG20LX films in potting soil (60% moisture, 21 ± 2 °C) showed a mass loss of 16% after seven days, 62% after 15 days, and 65.18% after one month. By 60 days, the films exhibited rupture and fragmentation. While mechanically inferior to low-density polyethylene, PLA, and PHA, the researchers judged the performance sufficient for greenhouse applications.
Significance and Outlook
The seaweed mulch’s ability to promote growth over synthetic alternatives remains unresolved, though researchers suggest the gradual release of natural compounds from the U. lactuca biomass may be a contributing factor.
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