A global team of scientists has proposed a major overhaul of plasticulture – the use of plastic mulch in agriculture – to ensure the practice can continue to boost crop yields without compromising the environment.

Plasticulture has been hailed as a lifeline for food security, increasing crop production by up to 30 per cent and improving water efficiency by almost 50 per cent.

It has emerged as a key technology in the bid to meet global food demand by 2050, but although the practice has delivered significant gains in yields, land productivity and resource efficiency, the associated pollution has raised serious concerns for ecological and human health.

With persistent plastic residues accumulating in agricultural soils and microscopic fragments entering food chains via soil, water and crops, the technology’s damaging side effects have highlighted the need for coordinated responses across scientific, regulatory and farming communities.

A new global study published in the journal Nature Communication sets out six evidence-based priorities to guide more sustainable use of plastic mulch in agriculture.

Co-authored by Director of The UWA Institute of Agriculture, Hackett Professor Kadambot Siddique, with collaborators from China, the United States, Canada, Morocco, Japan and Switzerland, the study proposes innovations including AI-enabled mulch precision, bioengineered ‘smart’ mulches, and global ‘plastic offset’ mechanisms. 

The researchers said scaling up eco-farming systems to use AI to optimise where and when mulches are applied could more than halve plastic use without compromising yield. “At the same time advances in material innovation, including biodegradable films and organic-based alternatives, offer the potential to cut long-term soil contamination and environmental impact,” Professor Siddique said.

The paper also recommends circular approaches such as blockchain-enabled traceability to track plastics across farming systems and prevent waste from escaping into the environment. “Alongside this, expanding reuse and recycling infrastructure ensures valuable materials are recovered rather than discarded, reducing the accumulation of plastics on farmlands,” Professor Siddique said.

Local incentive schemes could encourage farmers to adopt low- or zero-plastic practices, helping to shift behaviour at the farm level.
To help finance the new approach, the paper recommends embedding plastic management into UN carbon trading frameworks.

“This would align agricultural pollution control with global climate objectives, connecting local action to broader international sustainability goals,” Professor Siddique said.

“Together, these strategies can pivot plasticulture toward a climate-resilient, ecologically sustainable model-balancing food security with environmental stewardship in an era of climate uncertainty.”