Engineering Commons^™

Determining Pesticide Persistence On Plastic Mulches Used As Row Covers In Tennessee, William Tod Pinson

Masters Theses

During the past decade, the use of plasticulture production systems has become an increasingly common practice for vegetable production in the United States. The plasticulture system is the use of plastic mulch to serve as a row cover in the field. The semi-permeable material can be made of varying densities of polyethylene, and serves as a barrier that helps maintain soil moisture and reduce weed growth. Increased use of these plastics has created a waste management problem, as producers have difficulties trying to find the best and cheapest disposal method. A few companies had begun collecting the materials for reprocessing …