Corn husk-derived cellulose nanocrystals reinforced multifunctional mulch film for sustainable agriculture
Mingjia Feng1, Yunhai Ma2, Yuqi Zhuansun2
1College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, China; School of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology College, Jilin 132101, China; Institute of Structured and Architected Materials, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang 110167, China.
Abstract:
Current biodegradable mulching films often have insufficient mechanical strength, weak UV protection, and no capacity for soil pH monitoring. We developed a degradable and recyclable multifunctional agricultural film (PSC/An) from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium lignosulfonate (SL), corn husk-derived cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), and blueberry anthocyanins (An). The film was fabricated by simple solution casting and integrates mechanical reinforcement, UV shielding, and visual soil-pH sensing. PSC/An showed a tensile strength of 53.6 MPa and UV transmittance below 1 %, indicating effective UV blocking. It also displayed clear color changes over pH 2-13 and in soils with different pH values, enabling direct visual identification of soil acidity/alkalinity. After three dissolution-regeneration cycles, the film retained its mechanical properties, pH responsiveness, and UV-shielding ability. It reached 56.6 % degradation after 50 days of soil burial. In pak choi pots, film mulching increased seed germination to 96.7 % and produced greater plant height, root length, and biomass than the unmulched control and commercial LDPE mulch. This multifunctional film offers a practical design strategy for environmentally friendly, intelligent mulching materials for sustainable agriculture.
