Feasibility of paper mulches in crop production —a review

Mulching has become an important practice in modern field production. This article reviews the published research on paper mulches and discusses the opportunity that they offer for solving the problems of the immense use of plastics in agriculture and the associated environmental threat. Paper mulches break down naturally after usage and incorporate into the soil. Laying paper mulches in large scale farming is a problem to be solved. The quality of the paper needs to be adapted or improved for mulching purposes, and its price needs to be more competitive with that of plastic mulches. The review shows that there is considerable potential for using paper mulches in agriculture and horticulture.