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Effect of PBAT Biodegradable Mulch Film Extract on Seed Germination and Seedlings Metabolism of Tobacco

Agriculture 2022 7 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 30 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Weichang Gao, Zhenyan Lin, Kaiyong Cai, Wenjie Pan, Han Li, Yanxia Liu, Dai Peng, Jiangchi Fei

Summary

This study investigated whether organic compounds extracted from a biodegradable mulch film made of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) affect tobacco seed germination and seedling growth. Extracts caused reduced germination rates and disrupted seedling metabolism in laboratory tests. The findings suggest that even biodegradable agricultural plastics can release compounds with phytotoxic effects.

Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) biodegradable mulch film (PBAT-BMF) is gradually applied in agricultural production, but its potential ecological risks have not been studied so far. In this paper, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was used to extract organic compounds from PBAT-BMF to evaluate its effects on tobacco seed germination and seedling metabolism. The results showed that six organic compounds were found in the extract of PBAT-BMF, among which the content of diisopropylphenyl isocyanate was the highest at 557.27 μg g−1. A germination test showed that the extract scan inhibited the germination of tobacco seeds. The germination time was 1 d later than the control(CK), and the germination percentage and germination energy were non-significantly decreased by 2.50% and 1.00%. In contrast, the extracts significantly affected the root length, and seedlings height (p < 0.01), decreased by 0.24 cm and 0.28 cm, respectively. A metabolic analysis revealed that the extracts have a certain stress effect on tobacco seedlings and showed an up-regulating effect on soluble sugar, critical organic acid, biogenic amine, and down-regulating alkaloid, which indicated that the carbon and nitrogen metabolism pathway of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and alkaloid synthesis were disturbed. These results indicated that organic compounds extracted from PBAT-BMF had stress effects on germination and the growth of tobacco seeds, which significantly changed the metabolism pathway. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the development and application of PBAT-BMF.

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