Abstract
Soil and water contamination caused by the abundant use of agricultural chemicals including herbicides and fertilizers draws public concerns since these chemicals may pollute the agricultural lands as well as the food products grown on these lands. As a method to reduce the use of agricultural chemicals mulching with thin plastic film has been commonly practised for many years. Although use of the plastic film for mulching is very effective in preventing the growth of weed, it is almost impossible to remove all of the plastic film from the agricultural land and the remaining film eventually contaminates the soils. Therefore, it is very imperative to develop a mulching material that decomposes completely to prevent soil pollution problems and to enhance the competitive edge of domestic agriculture. Mulch papers are believed to have many positive characteristics in preventing problems caused by the plastic mulch film since it decomposes completely after use. However, the basis weight of mulch papers needs to be reduced to improve its handling properties and to reduce the raw material costs of pulps. In this paper the possibilities of using domestic old corrugated containers in producing mulch papers were examined. Also use of unbleached softwood kraft pulps and dry strength additives were exploited along with two-layered sheet forming technology in decreasing the basis weight of the mulch paper. Results showed that reduction of 20g/$m^2$ of basis weight of mulch paper was possible by the appropriate raw material selection and application of strength resin. To use the mulch papers in paddy fields, however, further research to improve its durability should be pursued.
