Improved Performance, Seed Germination and Degradation Behavior of Bamboo Fiber Paper Mulch Film Reinforced by Nano Bacterial Cellulose

To address the limitation of insufficient mechanical strength and short service life in biodegradable bamboo fiber mulch film (BFM) replacing plastic film in agriculture, this study applied a biochemical method to make bamboo fiber and used bacterial cellulose (BC) as a natural nanoscale reinforcing agent to fabricate high-performance bacterial cellulose bamboo fiber mulch film (BC-BFM). The physical and mechanical properties, chemical structure, seed germination and degradation behavior performance of BC-BFM were characterized. Results demonstrated the structural compactness and homogeneity of the BC-BFM were improved markedly with the increase in BC addition and BC formed a 3D nanofibrillar network that effectively bridged inter-fiber voids. The tensile, burst and tear indexes of BC-BFM all significantly rose with BC addition. Notably, compared to plastic film and BFM, BC-BFM exhibited a good effect on mung bean seed germination and the best growth speed was at 5% BC addition. Furthermore, the degradation test showed that the degradation rate of BC-BFM within 90 d was three times less than that of BFM and service life was similar to plastic film. This showed that it was a promising method to prepare biodegradable high-quality BFM through biochemical preparation of bamboo fiber and BC nanocellulose reinforcement. This method markedly enhanced the mechanical performance and durability of BC-BFM, providing a feasible technical path for the development of biodegradable high-performance green agricultural covering materials with long service life.