Abstract
Biocontainers made of coconut coir, paper, peat, wood, or other natural fibers are considered sustainable alternatives to containers made of petroleum-based plastics, but growers’ acceptance and use of fiber containers have been limited by their comparatively high cost, low strength and durability, and poor water-use efficiency (WUE). We hypothesized that coating fiber containers with biopolymers would improve their strength, durability, and WUE during plant production. We compared the effectiveness of fiber containers of coir, paper, and wood that were either uncoated or coated with one of four biopolymers [polyamide (PA), polylactic acid (PLA), polyurethane (PU), or tung oil (TO)], peat-fiber containers that were uncoated, and injection-molded containers made of petroleum-based plastic. Ease of coating was assessed, along with the cost and strength of containers, their effectiveness during greenhouse production of ‘Honeycomb’ marigold ( Tagetes patula ), ‘Autumn Bell’ pepper ( Capisicum annuum ), ‘Madness Red’ petunia ( Petunia × hybrida ), ‘St. John’s Fire’ salvia ( Salvia splendens ), and ‘Rutgers’ tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ), and their WUE during production of salvia and tomato. Castor oil-based PU was the least expensive biopolymer coating and was easy to apply as a water-based dispersion. The other biopolymers required a hazardous and costly organic solvent (e.g., chloroform). Coatings of PA, PLA, and PU increased container strength and durability, and improved WUE during plant production. Coated paper-fiber containers resisted horizontal compression better than petroleum-plastic containers. Greenhouse-grown plants in containers coated with PA, PLA, or PU were larger and rated healthier and of better quality than plants grown in uncoated or TO-coated fiber containers. Plants grown in paper- and coir-fiber containers coated with PA, PLA, or PU were similar in health and size to plants grown in petroleum-plastic containers. Two coatings of PU on paper-fiber containers resulted in WUE similar to that of petroleum-plastic containers for both 4- to 5-inch and gallon sizes. Coating fiber containers with biopolymers slowed, but did not halt, their degradation in soil, indicating that decomposition in soil may be a suitable end-of-life option for biopolymer-coated fiber containers. Our results support the hypothesis that coating fiber containers with biopolymers can improve their effectiveness for crop production, while maintaining an improvement in sustainability over petroleum plastic. Paper-fiber containers coated with PU showed particular promise and were similar in material cost and performance to containers made of petroleum-based plastic.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Castor oil-based polyurethane was the least expensive and easy-to-apply coating.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Castor oil-based PU was the least expensive biopolymer coating and was easy to apply as a water-based dispersion.”
Claim · model-written summary
Other biopolymers required a hazardous and costly organic solvent.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The other biopolymers required a hazardous and costly organic solvent (e.g., chloroform).”
Claim · model-written summary
Polyamide coatings increased fiber container strength and durability and improved water use efficiency.
- Taxon
- PlantsViridiplantaet0
- Treatment
- PAe0
- Outcome
- container strength and durability, and improved WUEe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Coatings of PA, PLA, and PU increased container strength and durability, and improved WUE during plant production.”
t0“Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Polylactic acid coatings increased fiber container strength and durability and improved water use efficiency.
- Taxon
- PlantsViridiplantaet0
- Treatment
- PLAe0
- Outcome
- container strength and durability, and improved WUEe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Coatings of PA, PLA, and PU increased container strength and durability, and improved WUE during plant production.”
t0“Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Polyurethane coatings increased fiber container strength and durability and improved water use efficiency.
- Taxon
- PlantsViridiplantaet0
- Treatment
- PUe0
- Outcome
- container strength and durability, and improved WUEe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Coatings of PA, PLA, and PU increased container strength and durability, and improved WUE during plant production.”
t0“Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Coated paper-fiber containers resisted horizontal compression better than petroleum-plastic containers.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Coated paper-fiber containers resisted horizontal compression better than petroleum-plastic containers.”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants in PA-coated containers were larger, healthier and better quality than in uncoated or tung-oil-coated containers.
Verbatim
e0“Greenhouse-grown plants in containers coated with PA, PLA, or PU were larger and rated healthier and of better quality than plants grown in uncoated or TO-coated fiber containers.”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants in PLA-coated containers were larger, healthier and better quality than in uncoated or tung-oil-coated containers.
Verbatim
e0“Greenhouse-grown plants in containers coated with PA, PLA, or PU were larger and rated healthier and of better quality than plants grown in uncoated or TO-coated fiber containers.”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants in PU-coated containers were larger, healthier and better quality than in uncoated or tung-oil-coated containers.
Verbatim
e0“Greenhouse-grown plants in containers coated with PA, PLA, or PU were larger and rated healthier and of better quality than plants grown in uncoated or TO-coated fiber containers.”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants in coated paper- and coir-fiber containers had similar health and size to those in plastic containers.
Verbatim
e0“Plants grown in paper- and coir-fiber containers coated with PA, PLA, or PU were similar in health and size to plants grown in petroleum-plastic containers.”
Claim · model-written summary
Two polyurethane coatings on paper containers gave water use efficiency similar to plastic containers.
- Taxon
- salvia and tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Salviae1 - Treatment
- Two coatings of PU on paper-fiber containerse0
- Outcome
- WUEe0
- Direction
- similare0
- Qualifier
- 4- to 5-inch and gallon sizese0
- Comparator
- petroleum-plastic containerse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Two coatings of PU on paper-fiber containers resulted in WUE similar to that of petroleum-plastic containers for both 4- to 5-inch and gallon sizes.”
e1“salvia and tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Biopolymer coatings slowed but did not halt fiber-container soil degradation.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Coating fiber containers with biopolymers slowed, but did not halt, their degradation in soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Paper-fiber containers coated with polyurethane had similar material cost and performance to plastic containers.
- Outcome
- material cost and performancee0
- Direction
- similare0
- Comparator
- containers made of petroleum-based plastice0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Paper-fiber containers coated with PU showed particular promise and were similar in material cost and performance to containers made of petroleum-based plastic.”
The same questions in other papers
growing medium · growth · Viridiplantae (plants)Positive and negative results
2 papers in the same direction as this paper · 9 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
8 papers more in this group
See all 12 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.