A heated air fusing system for the continuous mulching of fields with polyethylene foil for soil solarization was developed. It comprises a hot air stream for fusing, emitted from a specially designed combustion chamber (burner); the performance was examined and improved accordingly. A series of simulation and field tests showed that while plain polyethylene film is suitable for field fusing, some additives which are in common use might interfere with the fusing process. A gluing system was examined as a possible alternative, but none of the glues tested joined the sheets for the desired duration of time.
A heated air fusing system for the continuous mulching of fields with polyethylene foil for soil solarization was developed. It comprises a hot air stream for fusing, emitted from a specially designed combustion chamber (burner); the performance was examined and improved accordingly. A series of simulation and field tests showed that while plain polyethylene film is suitable for field fusing, some additives which are in common use might interfere with the fusing process. A gluing system was examined as a possible alternative, but none of the glues tested joined the sheets for the desired duration of time.