Polymer Materials for Agricultural Application II

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 1283

Special Issue Editors

1. Bioresources Department, Bioproducts Group, National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry, ICECHIM, Bucharest, Romania
2. Biotechnologies Faculty, University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: plant biostimulants; microbial and plant biosynthetized nanoparticles; nanocellulose; chitin/chitosan and nanochitin/nanochitosan; alginate; stimuli-responsive nanoformulations; multifunctional nanosystems; circular bioeconomy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
National Institute for Research & Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry–ICECHIM, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: proteins; biopolymers; plant biostimulants; bio(nano)technology; green technologies; enzymology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer materials are inputs that support the development of more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. Granular fertilizers, including (bio)fertilizers with phosphorus recovered from bioeconomy side-streams and mineral nutrients from nutrient-rich wastes, benefit from coatings with biodegradable polymers when promoting controlled release. Biopolymers, such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lignin, act as formulation ingredients for plant biostimulants. Most of these biopolymers, especially in their nanoforms, are also active ingredients or precursors of active ingredients—e.g., bioactive peptides, lignin derivatives, or oligosaccharins acting on the tissular and cellular plant regulatory network. Several polysaccharides (chitin/chitosan and polysaccharides from yeast or (micro)algae cell wall) were registered as active ingredients of low-risk plant protection products. Other agricultural applications of polymer materials include seed coating, film-forming formulation for extended fruits and vegetables shelf life, enhancers of water-holding in soil, and biodegradable mulch film. This Special Issue welcomes original articles, communications, reviews, and perspectives on the applications in the agriculture of polymer materials.

Dr. Florin Oancea
Dr. Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • (bio)polymer coating for controlled-release fertilizers
  • novel fertilizing products based on (nano)lignin and their derivatives
  • plant biostimulants based on proteins and/or bioactive peptides
  • oligosaccharins acting as elicitors of plant defense
  • low-risk plant protection products based on polymer material
  • mulch film produced from natural polymers
  • polymer material for seed coating and seed biostimulation
  • polymer materials for soil improvement and stabilization
  • edible films for an extended shelf life of fruits and vegetables

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4524 KiB  
Article
Method for Simulating the Anti-Damage Performance of Consolidation Soil Balls at the Roots of Seedlings during Transportation Using Consolidated Soil Columns
by Shaoli Wang, Shengju Song, Xuping Yang, Zhengqi Xiong, Chaoxing Luo, Donglu Wei, Hong Wang, Lili Liu, Xinxin Yang, Shaofeng Li and Yongxiu Xia
Polymers 2023, 15(20), 4083; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15204083 - 14 Oct 2023
Viewed by 594
Abstract
In the process of landscaping or afforestation in challenging terrain, in order to improve the survival rate of transplanted seedlings, it is necessary to transplant seedlings with a mother soil ball attached. During transportation, the soil ball at the root of the seedlings [...] Read more.
In the process of landscaping or afforestation in challenging terrain, in order to improve the survival rate of transplanted seedlings, it is necessary to transplant seedlings with a mother soil ball attached. During transportation, the soil ball at the root of the seedlings is very susceptible to breakage due to compression, bumps, and collisions. In order to ensure the integrity of the soil ball of the transplanted seedlings and improve the survival rate of seedlings, a method of chemically enhancing the soil surface strength was employed. Specifically, a polymer-based soil consolidating agent was used to solidify the root balls of the seedlings. To examine the abrasion resistance performance of the soil balls formed by consolidating the surface with polymer adhesive during the transportation process, we utilized a polymer-based consolidating agent to prepare test soil columns and developed a method to simulate the damage resistance performance of seedling root balls during transportation using these soil columns. The method primarily encompasses two aspects of testing: compressive strength testing of the consolidated soil columns and resistance to transportation vibration testing. The first method for testing the resistance to transportation vibration of the consolidated soil columns is a combination test that includes three sets of tests: highway truck transportation vibration testing, combined wheel vehicle transportation vibration testing, and impact testing. Although the method is cumbersome, testing is more accurate. The second method for testing the resistance to transportation vibration of the consolidated soil columns involves simultaneously testing multiple consolidated soil columns using a simulated transportation vibration test platform. The testing method is concise and efficient, and the test results are more intuitive. The combined assessment of the resistance to transportation vibration and compressive strength testing of the consolidated soil columns allows for a comprehensive evaluation of the soil columns’ resistance to damage during transportation. This study mainly provides a quick and effective method for detecting the damage resistance of consolidated soil columns/balls during transportation, providing technical support for the application of polymer-based consolidation agents in the field of seedling transplantation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials for Agricultural Application II)
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