Synthetic polymers are important in many branches of industry, for example in the packaging industry. However, they have an undesirable influence on the environment and cause problems with waste deposition and utilization. Thus, there is a tendency to substitute such polymers with polymers that undergo biodegradable processes. Increasing interest in applying polymers based on natural materials such as starch has been observed. This review describes biodegradation processes of xenobiotics such as aromatic compounds, plastics (PVA, polyesters, polyethylene, and nylon), and polymer blends (Starch/Polyethylene, Starch/Polyester, and Starch/PVA). Moreover, this review includes information about biodegradable polymers such as mixtures of synthetic polymers and substances that are easy digestible by microorganisms (chemically modified starch, starch-polymer composites, thermoplastic starch, and biodegradable packing materials), synthetic materials with groups susceptible to hydrolytic microbial attack (polycaprolactone), and biopolyesters (poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates). Production of this kind of material and introducing it to the market is important for the natural environmental. It may result in decreasing the volume of waste dumps.
The use of synthetic materials for mulching is a very common practice for vegetable crops. Soil mulching influences the microclimate around plants and soil environmental conditions. Mulching with black materials is particularly recommended for thermophilic species, especially those requiring high soil temperature. An experimet was established to evaluate an effect of soil mulching with synthetic materials (black polyethylene film, black polypropylene nonwoven 50 g∙m, black fabric 94 g∙m-2) on the fruit quality and nutritive value of two melon cultivars (‘Seledyn’, ‘Yupi’) cultivated in the field under the climatic conditions of central-eastern Poland. The greatest numbers of fruit per 1 m2 and marketable fruit were harvested in the year 2007 which was most favourable for melon growing compared with the remaining study years. The number of the fruits which were either unripe or showed symptoms of decay did not differ significantly in individual study years. ‘Yupi’ was characterised by a significantly higher total number of fruit and number of marketable fruit than ‘Seledyn’. ‘Yupi’ fruits were less affected by decay than ‘Seledyn’ which, however, produced significant less unripe fruit. ‘Yupi’ fruits had significantly more dry matter, total sugars, monosaccharides and vitamin C as compared to ‘Seledyn’. In both the cultivars examined, higher nutrient contents were determined in the fruit grown using black film mulching.
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