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Biodegradable nonwoven geotextiles incorporating vine pruning residues
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Scientists turned leftover grapevine trimmings — normally burned as waste — into fabric-like mats that farmers can use to control weeds and erosion in vineyards, offering a plant-based alternative to the plastic versions currently used. This matters because those conventional plastic geotextiles break down into microplastics over time, which can contaminate soil, water, and potentially the food grown there; this biodegradable version could reduce that source of environmental and food-chain contamination while also cutting down on waste-burning emissions.
Vineyard pruning generates large amounts of lignocellulosic biomass that is still frequently underutilised. Vine pruning wood, typically produced at around 1–3 t/ha per year, is often managed as waste (e.g., on‑site burning), leading to avoidable emissions and loss of potentially valuable resources. In parallel, geotextiles used for soil protection, weed control, erosion mitigation, as well as water filtration and drainage are predominantly produced from fossil‑based polymers (e.g., PP and PET), raising concerns regarding end‑of‑life management, persistence in the environment and microplastic generation. In viticulture, additional constraints such as UV exposure, abrasion from field operations and progressive clogging can further limit service life. These drivers have accelerated the development of renewable and biodegradable geotextiles for agricultural ground management. In this work, geotextile nonwoven mats incorporating fibers derived from vine pruning residues were produced using needle‑punching, a mechanically driven, binder‑free and solvent‑free manufacturing route. Nonwoven structures with different vine‑pruning fiber contents (0, 20, 40, 50 and 60 wt.%) were manufactured and blended with biodegradable polymeric fibers (polylactic acid) and/or natural fiber (flax and cotton), aiming to tailor structure and performance for agricultural applications. The resulting nonwovens were characterised in terms of key geotextilerelevant properties, including mechanical properties (puncture and tensile resistance), air permeability, water-handling characteristics (retention, drainage, wettability), and filtration capacity. The performance of the developed nonwovens was benchmarked against reference samples to assess their suitability for vineyard ground-management applications, where durability, permeability, water management, and filtration are critical. Among the investigated compositions, selected formulations combining vine-pruning fibers with PLA or natural fibers showed promising performance for agricultural geotextiles, highlighting their potential for application in vineyard ground management.
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