consumers and landscapers, thus presenting a significant disposal issue for the horticulture industry ( Evans and Hensley, 2004 ). In recent years, the floriculture industry has seen a rise in biodegradable, compostable, or bioresin containers often called
in the United States, with petroleum-based plastic containers accounting for 1.6 billion pounds of plastic ( Schrader, 2013 ). Moving toward sustainability, the green industry has shown an increased interest in biodegradable containers in the United
Biodegradable plastic mulch was introduced in the 1990s as an alternative to PE mulch, which has been used in agriculture worldwide since the early 1960s to control weeds, conserve soil moisture, modify soil temperature, shorten time to harvest, and
pounds of plastic were used in agriculture in 2002 ( Levitan and Barros, 2003 ). There are numerous types of alternative, biodegradable containers that can be composted or planted directly into the soil, which eliminate the need for plastic containers
biodegradable or degradable mulches to technologies that allow a more efficient recycling or disposal of the used plastic mulch ( Feuilloley et al., 2005 ; Gross and Kalra, 2002 ; Halley et al., 2001 ; Ngouajio and Ernest, 2005 ; Olsen and Gounder, 2001
Ca uptake of ‘P.J.M Compact’ and ‘English Roseum’. Plant species vary in their growth and nutrient uptake responses to irrigation frequency ( Li et al., 2018 , 2019 ). Biocontainers made from various biodegradable materials have been investigated as
; Steinmetz et al., 2016 ). Introduced in the 1990s, biodegradable plastic mulch is a potential alternative to PE mulch ( Kasirajan and Ngouajio, 2012 ; Miles et al., 2017 ; Sintim and Flury, 2017 ). Made from starch and other biodegradable polymers
producers in U.S. southern states and is shipped to U.S. northern growers. Black biodegradable or standard plastic mulch is frequently used to warm the soil surface and for weed control. In addition, some growers use raised beds to increase early-season soil
to the environment due to waste plastics being buried in landfills and on farm, or burned. As an alternative, plastic mulches that are biodegradable have been developed. These products first appeared on the market in the 1980s, and may be made from
the field ( Cowan et al., 2014 ; Kasirajan and Ngouajio, 2012 ; Miles et al., 2012 ). It is important to note, however, that at this time in the United States, BDMs are advertised as biodegradable when tilled into the soil, but BDMs are not required