Method of mulching with antistatic synthetic polymer film

Abstract

A method of mulching comprising mulching plants or soil with antistatic films of a synthetic polymer obtained by the method consisting essentially of continuously printing over at least part of the surface of at least one side of the film of synthetic polymer with aluminum powder by suspending in solvent a composition consisting essentially of aluminum powder and a polyamide resin, setting the suspension down onto the film, and permitting the solvent to evaporate. The films obtained have a surface resistivity of less than 10.sup.10 ohms/cm. The mulching of plants with these films prevents virus degeneration of the plants by virus-carrying aphides, and the mulching of the soil limits the increase of soil temperature in warm environments.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of mulching using antistatic films of synthetic polymers.

It is known that synthetic polymers, owing to their non-conductivity, readily acquire but do not easily lose static electrical charges. The generation of static electricity onto the surface of plastic materials may occur in several ways during the period extending from their production to their final use. One way is through the friction caused by extrusion or even through pulling a film over the rollers of a packaging machine.

Static electricity has detrimental effects in various applications of synthetic polymers. In the packaging industry, first it causes the attraction of dust which ruins the clarity of a polymer film, secondly, it causes handling problems which result from the polymers adhering to metal parts of the packaging machine, and thirdly it causes electrical discharges which may start a fire and/or explosion.

Previously, two means have been proposed for resolving these problems. The first means is the use of air-ionizing bars which provide negative and positive ions that neutralize the plastic. This is an effective means of reducing fire and explosion hazards, but provides only temporary protection. The second means is the incorporation into the synthetic polymer of antistatic chemical agents such as quaternary ammonium compounds, phosphate esters, and polyglycol esters of fatty acids which are hygroscopic and remain on the polymer surface. Nevertheless, depending on the method of incorporation used, they have the disadvantage of being easily removed from the plastic surface by handling or cleaning or of only producing their effect for several days or several weeks after incorporation. Furthermore, surface resistivity of polymers comprising such agents cannot be reduced below 10.sup.10 ohms/cm, whereas surface resistivity of unmodified polymers is about 10.sup.16 to 10.sup.18 ohms/cm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to develop uses for antistatic films of synthetic polymers in agricultural applications.

Additional advantages will become apparent from the following description, or may be deduced from the practice of the invention. To achieve this object, the invention provides for mulching plants or soil with a film of an antistatic polymer. The film is made by continuously printing over at least a part of the surface of a film of synthetic polymer with a conducting powder, wherein the synthetic polymer is selected from low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutene-1 and wherein the conducting powder is aluminum powder. More precisely, the method consists essentially of continuously printing over at least part of the surface of at least one side of the polymer film with aluminum powder by suspending in solvent a composition consisting essentially of aluminum powder and a polyamide resin, setting the suspension down onto the film, and permitting the solvent to evaporate. The solvent is constituted by a mixture of isopropyl alcohol, petrol, and possibly dry butanol.

The expression "the surface of a film" means the surface of at least one side of a film.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description is intended to make the invention easier to understand, but it should not be interpreted as limiting it.

The synthetic polymers which may be used in the method according to the invention are particularly preferred over non-olefinic polymers such as polyvinyl-chloride and cellophane, especially in view of the surface resistivity that can be achieved.

The method of making the film according to the invention may use flexographic printing as well as with heliographic printing, so-called transfer helio or direct helio. The choice of the printing method will depend on the width of the film and on the consumption of ink comprising aluminum powder which may be allowed for a given cost. Aluminum powder of low mean grain size is preferred.

The method of making the film described above is particularly advantageous both from the practical as well as the economical point of view since it uses well known techniques and facilitates a reduction in the cost of the films without loss of quality compared to methods using ionization of air or the incorporation of chemical agents.

The electrical properties of the film obtained according to the invention are better than those of antistatic films obtained by conventional methods. Thus, the resistivity may be reduced to 10.sup.8 ohms/cm and possibly to even lower values. On the other hand, these electrical properties are achieved at once and are maintained satisfactorily in the course of time.

Tests in some agricultural applications have unexpectedly shown that the antistatic films possess remarkable properties under certain conditions which make them useful in the field of agriculture. Thus, it is a well known problem for cultivators to exterminate aphides which act as vehicles of the virus degeneration of some plants. It has been found that by covering plants exposed to that phenomenon with antistatic films according to the invention, there is achieved an important increase of their output due to a powerful repulsive effect towards aphides. These films can therefore be beneficially used for the mulching of late autumn cultures such as tomatoes, pimentoes, marrows, etc.

In another field, moreover, it has been found that mulching with antistatic films according to the invention shows specific advantages in countries with warm environments in order to limit the increase in soil temperature.

To illustrate the production of the antistatic film used in the invention more concretely, reference is made to the following example, which should not be taken as limiting the scope and general principles of the invention.

EXAMPLE

A solvent mixture is prepared of by weight 63% isopropyl alcohol, 32% petrol, and 5% dry 1-butanol. A composition comprising 80% by weight polyamide resin and 20% by weight of an aluminum powder having a mean grain size of 6 microns, a covering power of 30,000 cm.sup.2 /g, and whereof 0.1% of the grains have a diameter greater than 45 microns is put into suspension in this solvent mixture. The resulting suspension is set down onto a film of low density polyethylene having a thickness of 50 microns and a width of 1.20 meters by the flexographic printing method. Then the solvent mixture is evaporated.

The resistivity of the film is measured in conventional manner by applying a known voltage to the latter and reading off the value of the intensity of the current. The surface resistivity of the sample thus prepared by the method of the invention is 10.sup.8 ohms/cm.

Claims

1. A method for preventing the virus degeneration of plants by virus-carrying aphides comprising mulching plants exposed to such degeneration with antistatic films obtained by the method consisting essentially of continuously printing over at least part of the surface of at least one side of a film of synthetic polymer with aluminum powder by suspending in solvent a composition consisting essentially of aluminum powder and a polyamide resin, setting said suspension down onto said film, and permitting said solvent to evaporate, said synthetic polymer of said film being selected from the group consisting of low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutene.

2. A method for limiting the increase in soil temperature in warm environments comprising mulching the soil with antistatic films obtained by the method consisting essentially of continuously printing over at least part of the surface of at least one side of a film of synthetic polymer with aluminum powder by suspending in solvent a composition consisting essentially of aluminum powder and a polyamide resin, setting said suspension down onto said film, and permitting said solvent to evaporate, said synthetic polymer of said film being selected from the group consisting of low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutene.