Abstract
Soil conservation is one of the best methods to improve soil fertility and enhance crop growth efficiency. Replacing plastic mulch with biomass is an environmentally friendly strategy. Innovative encapsulated soil granules (ESGs) were developed using PVA/PC film as the wall material and rural soil as the core. The PVA/PC was synthesized using 60% protein polypeptide (PC) from leather waste scrap and 35% poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which was optimized for water absorption expansion and water retention performance. The ESG-10 granulated with 10% PVA/PC exhibited good water absorption, moisture retention, and resistance to water solubility. As an auxiliary material for soil improvement, the amount of ESGs mixed with the topsoil at ratios of 0 g/m(2), 200 g/m(2), and 400 g/m(2) was proportional to the soil insulation and moisture retention. In rapeseed cultivation, the experimental results indicated that the soil mulched with ESG-10 can maintain seedling vitality for a long time under low water content conditions.