New mulching technique based on paper for wild rocket ( Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC.)

Mulching has become an increasingly used agricultural practice in modern horticulture to cope with the effects of climate change. Classical mulching film (MF), due to their low cost and positive results in traditional agriculture, are mainly made using fossil-based raw materials such as polyethylene (PE) a non-biodegradable material. After their use, non-biodegradable MF must be removed from the field and must be disposed reducing the agricultural sustainability. A possible alternative to reduce this problem is the use of biodegradable mulch films. In this respect, within biodegradable mulch film, the one obtained by paper, does not raise disposal problems and can be incorporated in the soil and naturally decomposed, guaranteeing, like classic plastic MF, a good weed control, a high-water soil retention improving the final yield and the quality of the harvest products. The aim of this experimental work was to test a MF based on paper and consisting in a sort of sandwich of two films of paper containing seeds of rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC.) genotype 'Yuma' and considering that in the case of densely populated crops, there is no alternative to mulching with paper film, since it is not possible to have the necessary holes in the plastic film for the passage of the seedlings. In the present work, the paper MF completely inhibited the weed emergence, decreased the number and the volume of the irrigation water (-10%) and increased the agronomic, physiological and qualitative performance of the rocket, in particular a reduction if nitrate leaf content was observed (-16%).