Biodegradability of pots made from empty fruit clusters of the oil palm (Elaeis guinnensis Jacq.) for agroforestry use in the Ucayali Region, Peru

The oil palm agro-industry is growing, and with it, the generation of waste, primarily empty fruit bunches (EFB), which represent between 16% and 23% of the fresh fruit bunch. The practice among companies and farmers is to degrade these bunches outdoors, with very few producing compost. The former option generates environmental problems due to its slow degradation. On the other hand, the use of nursery bags in the agroforestry sector is the most common practice, but improper disposal of these bags also generates microplastic pollution. This research was designed to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions on the biodegradation of pots made from EFB enriched with dolomite and phosphate rock. A burial methodology was used under natural conditions at a depth of 15 cm from the soil, under storage conditions (infrastructure), in open soil (scarce vegetation cover that has not had alterations) and in reforested soil (with vegetation cover), measuring weight loss at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days, with a pre-experimental pre-test/post-test design. By means of the ANOVA test, the post hoc Tukey and cubic curvilinear regression, the greatest degradation occurred in reforested soil with 93.88%, in open soil with 86.80% and in storage with 1.06% at day 90. Pot enrichment, physicochemical and microbiological conditions presented favorable parameters for the soil. In addition, the prediction of total biodegradation in reforested soil was given on day 95 and in open soil on day 98. Biodegradation was rapid in relation to other alternatives studied. In addition, the use of planters is feasible due to their biodegradation, compared to the current use of plastic that persists in the environment, representing a danger to ecosystems and people.