A model of electrospun polymer system for sustainable agriculture

Agriculture is a key sector of the human life and world economy since devoted to production and supply of raw materials for food and feed industries. On the other hand it is a major cause of soil degradation and climate change. In the present work a model to both preserve the soil ecosystem and develop resource-efficient, green and competitive approaches for agricultural systems based on the use of ecosustainable materials is presented. Such a model aimed at creating delivering nanofibrous polymer systems acting as plants nano-biostimulants. Since the limitation of iron availability is a crucial condition in plant nutrition, the polymer fabrics here proposed, mimicking the natural strategies adopted by nongraminaceous and graminaceous species, were designed to make available to the plants the insoluble iron (Fe III) widely present in ecosystems by releasing selected iron-chelating molecules (mugineic acid and cathecol, respectively). Therefore, we investigated a model system based on electrospun bio-derived and biodegradable nanofibrous textiles with different shapes capable of delivering two kinds of natural iron-chelators into soil/water by controlled rates (depending on the membrane morphology). The fabrics were designed to be water insoluble, low environmental impact, and thermally resistant. The effectiveness and toxicity of both functional systems mimicking Strategy I and II concepts and dynamics were tested in two different plant cultures. Such sustainable agricultural practices based on the use of natural sources and waste, followed by their conversions into new arrangements and applications thanks to electrospinning technology, should improve health and environmental conditions, as required by the original principles of circular economy