Virtual Booth

The agriculture sector’s excessive usage of seedling polybags has led to environmental pollution due to the increased waste of plastics. Usually, after the seedling is moved into pots or planting holes, polybags will be thrown away and may damage the root system from growing healthily. Besides, plant seedlings require nutrients, but soils used for seedling growth often lack the nutrients needed. Therefore, the solution for this issue is to develop a biodegradable seedling bag (BSB) that is made from natural fiber waste with slow-release phosphate function. This will increase the chances of survival for seedlings. This BSB uses sugarcane bagasse fiber (SBF) and coconut leaf sheath fiber (CLSF) as the reinforced materials to slow-release fertilizer (SRF) matrix. SRF was a mixture of glycerol, water, cassava starch, vinegar, and fertilizer (phosphoric acid). Then, SBF was added to SRF mixture before spread on top of the CLSF surfaces using hand lay-up technique before being dried in the oven. After it has fully dried, it was compressed using cold compression molding press machine. Three compositions with different ratios of CSLF, SBF and SRF were formulated. Then, BSBs were tested to identify the water contact angle, biodegradability, chemical interaction, and tensile properties. This BSB will reduce seedling shock because of pot transferring, root growth, early shoot growth, speeds ground cover for erosion protection and improve seedling survival. BSB will influence sustainable agriculture development that protects the environment while promoting a circular economy by reusing natural waste materials.