Taitung District Agricultural Improvement Farm promotes rice straw reuse to suppress weeds and reduce plastic waste

Custard apple gardens are covered with straw mats to suppress weeds. (Photo by reporter Huang Mingtang)

The Taitung District Agricultural Improvement Farm promotes rice straw reuse technology. By combining the application of biogas residue and biogas slurry, it can effectively accelerate the decomposition of rice straw in the field and return it to the soil, quickly converting it into organic matter and nutrients. In addition to reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers and fertilization wages, it has also been proven to increase yields without affecting rice quality. On the other hand, using straw weaving machines to make straw mats and laying them in the fields can also be used as an excellent weed management material. It can not only effectively suppress the growth of weeds and reduce the use of herbicides, but also directly replace the silver-black plastic cloth that is difficult to recycle in traditional fields, reducing plastic waste from the source.

During the rice harvest season, fields are traditionally faced with the dilemma of straw disposal. In the past, many farmers chose to burn rice straw in the open in order to save time and effort. This not only easily caused serious air pollution and public security concerns, but may even lead to legal penalties. Even if they choose to plow the rice directly into the soil, without a proper decomposition mechanism, the gas and heat generated during the rotting process of rice straw in the soil can easily cause rice fermentation diseases and affect the development of the next crop. These huge amounts of agricultural surplus materials have been regarded as thorny agricultural waste for many years.

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Nowadays, with the breakthrough of circular agriculture technology, rice straw is getting rid of its past difficulties in all aspects and transformed into a valuable resource that is friendly to the environment. The Taitung District Agricultural Improvement Farm promotes the use of biogas residue and biogas slurry, or recycles rice straw as weed management materials, which can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides. In the future, it plans to cooperate with industry operators to establish a temporary straw storage and storage site to further develop organic fertilizers and cultivation media. Converting the formerly troublesome straw into high-value agricultural recycling resources not only saves farmers on cultivation costs, but also creates new green opportunities for sustainable agriculture.

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