Since the 1940s, the introduction of plastic technology caused a true revolution in agriculture. Among the uses of plastics, mulch films have been used to improve yields and crop traits. They are useful to increase air and soil temperatures, protect plants from several agents, improve water management, reduce the growth of weeds, and, consequently, to avoid high dependence on agrochemicals. The low-density polyethylene obtained from non-renewable resources has been mainly used for this purpose due to its mechanical and barrier properties, resistance to all forms of degradation, easy processing and low cost. Unfortunately, low-density polyethylene presents several economic and environmental drawbacks related to their low biodegradability, their removal after the crop cycle and their final disposal. Hence, there is a great interest in using biodegradable mulch films to provide greater agricultural sustainability. In this review, we interpret evidence about the potential of polysaccharide-based bio-composite mulch films as a possible replacement of traditional low-density polyethylene films as well as their commercial barriers and evolution of intellectual property rights. We identified that: (1) mulch films improve their mechanical properties through the formulation of multiphase materials, reaching international standards; (2) biodegradability of bio-composite mulch films can be adjusted according to crop season; (3) bio-composite mulch films provide high yields for different crops; and (4) they are promising for the management of pests and weeds. Due to these traits, biodegradable mulch films have reported a significant increase in the number of patent protections lately. However, to the present day the lack of knowledge about bio-composite mulch films and their high costs are the main commercial limitations to their adoption for crop production systems in the field.

自 1940 年代以来，塑料技术的引入引发了一场真正的农业革命。在塑料的用途中，地膜已被用于提高产量和作物性状。它们可用于提高空气和土壤温度，保护植物免受多种因素的影响，改善水分管理，减少杂草的生长，从而避免对农用化学品的高度依赖。从不可再生资源中获得的低密度聚乙烯主要用于此目的，因为它具有机械和阻隔性能、抗各种形式的降解、易于加工和成本低。不幸的是，低密度聚乙烯存在一些经济和环境缺陷，与它们的低生物降解性、作物周期后的去除和最终处置有关。因此，使用可生物降解的地膜来提供更大的农业可持续性引起了人们的极大兴趣。在这篇综述中，我们解释了有关基于多糖的生物复合地膜作为传统低密度聚乙烯薄膜的可能替代品的潜力及其商业障碍和知识产权演变的证据。我们发现：（1）地膜通过多相材料的配方提高其机械性能，达到国际标准；(2)生物复合地膜的生物降解性可根据作物季节进行调整；(3) 生物复合地膜为不同作物提供高产；(4)它们在病虫害和杂草的管理方面很有前景。由于这些特点，据报道，可生物降解地膜最近获得的专利保护数量显着增加。然而，直到今天，对生物复合地膜及其高成本的缺乏了解是其在田间作物生产系统中采用的主要商业限制。