This project will greatly increase market demand and price of soybeans by expanding market opportunity for plant containers produced from soybeans. The current bio-based containers, commercialized by Selfeco, are produced nearly exclusively from corn because of the lower price of corn protein compared to soy protein; however, the researchers already have collected extensive data showing that plant containers produced from soy provide superior performance in terms of plant growth, health, and fruit yield. This work will develop a novel bioplastic formulation that will incorporate soy-based fractions to improve the performance of the containers while being cost-competitive. The new containers will not only be fully biobased, degradable, and provide inherent fertilizer for the plant growth, but they will also prevent root circling which in turn will promote plant health and fruit yield, e.g., in tomatoes and peppers. This will result in wider consumer acceptance and growth of the market for biobased plant containers. Based on market size potential evaluated by the researchers and others, this project will result in soybean sales of more than 12M bushels annually. Working with three industry partners – SelfEco, Green Dot, and Ainong Plastics – will ensure smooth technology transfer and allow fast commercialization and market acceptance.

1. Test plant health and yield with containers produced from four formulations for 2 months in NDSU greenhouses
2. Determine decomposition rates for the containers produced from the various formulations.
3. Perform economic analysis with a targeted price increase of less than 25%
4. Identify product (container) performance in terms of consumer acceptance by distributing to various commercial growers

1. The development and production of plastic pellets for injection molding as well as production of containers of four formulations for subsequent plant growth tests.
2. Data validating the performance of each container formulation in terms of plant health, such as height, diameter, color and root ball morphology, fruit yield, and container decomposition in soil.
3. Techno-economic analysis that will determine the price sensitivity and corresponding viability of the proposed product in terms of costs and price compared to existing products, namely petrochemical-derived planting containers
4. The seamless translation of knowledge and experience from the researchers to industry partners.

Updated June 28, 2021:
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Updated June 28, 2021:
Please refer to the PDF file attached. Thank you!

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Updated December 31, 2021:

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Research conducted
This research developed two soy-based bioplastic formulations for garden pots. These soy-based pots are biodegradable, self-fertilizing, and prevent root circling. The objectives accomplished were:
Objective 1: Two soy-based pots formulations with different compositions of soy-hulls, soy protein isolate (SPI), and polylactic acid (PLA) were molded into 3" garden pots. These new formulations are compared with existing garden pots. The four types of pots studied were:
1) Plastic (polyethylene)
2) Existing bio-based formulation from SelfEco
3) F1 - New formulation 1 (70% PLA + 30% soy hulls)
4) F2 - New formulation 2 (65% PLA + 30 soy hulls + 5% SPI)

Objective 2: Five plant species (Black seeded simpson lettuce, Tacitus R2 lettuce, Zinnia, French marigold, and Sheyenne tomatoes) were studied for their plant growth and root circling conditions. Degradation analysis was carried out by measuring the pot's dry weight before plantation and after harvesting.

Objective 3: Techno-economic analysis was performed to ensure cost competitiveness.

Why the research is important to ND soybean farmers
It is anticipated that with the market acceptance of soy-based garden pots, container manufacturers will be able to replace as much as 50% of the product weight with protein or hauls derived from soybeans within 3-5 years. With North Dakota's soybean production of 239M bushels, the proposed product will directly impact 5% (12.5M bushels). Additional economic benefits are the profit realized from the use of domestic raw materials and the development of new domestic jobs.

Final findings of the research
Overall, the performance of soy-based pots F1 and F2 in terms of plant health and biodegradability was better than plastic and SelfEco pots in several cases. The plant height was significantly better for Zinnia plants planted in F1 pot instead of SelfEco pot. From the visual inspections, the root circling problem was observed to be rarely present in bioplastic pots.
Both new formulations pots were deemed to have the ability to degrade faster than the SelfEco pot. Over the period of six weeks, the average degradation rate of the F1, F2, and SelfEco pots were found to be 3.121%, 5.647%, and 2.815%, respectively. By comparing the two new formulations, it can be summarized that SPI significantly increases biodegradability.
Benefits and recommendation
The biodegradability of soy-based pots can be deemed unique compared to plastic pots. Another advantage of the proposed soy-based formulations is the root circling problem was significantly reduced.

The targeted goal is to develop a product that can be commercialized and result in +$10M annually in container sales within three years, corresponding to demand for 12M bushels of soybeans annually. Additional economic benefits that will arise from the development and implementation of bioplastic container cropping systems are the profit realized from the use of domestic raw materials and the development of new domestic jobs (Grewell et al., 2007). It is anticipated that with market acceptance, SelfEco Plastics, Ainong Plastics, and other container manufacturers will be able to replace as much as 50% of the product weight with protein or hauls derived from soybeans within 3-5 years.