Valorization of Banana Pseudo-Stem Waste as Biodegradable Geotextiles for Soil Conservation

Abstract

Soil erosion remains one of the major challenges affecting agricultural lands, particularly in sloping areas where it gradually reduces soil fertility and crop productivity. This problem is especially evident in tropical regions such as the Philippines, other Southeast Asian countries, and many banana-producing areas around the world. Banana pseudo-stem (BPS) sheaths are an abundant agricultural by-product with high fiber content, good tensile strength, and strong water absorption capacity. Because of these properties, they show strong potential as a natural and biodegradable geotextile material. In this study, BPS geotextiles made from strips of different widths (1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 cm) were evaluated for their effectiveness in controlling soil erosion under simulated rainfall conditions on a 9% slope. The experiment followed a Completely Randomized Design with four treatments, each replicated three times. Key parameters measured included surface runoff, sediment yield, and net cover efficiency. The results showed that geotextiles made from 1.0 cm strips (BPS 1) performed the best, achieving the highest net cover efficiency (94.74%), followed by 1.5 cm (88.76%) and 2.0 cm strips (85.77%). In terms of sediment yield, BPS 1 recorded only 15.91 g m⁻² hr⁻¹, which was significantly lower than the control treatment (299.24 g m⁻² hr⁻¹). Overall, the findings indicate that narrower strips, which create a finer mesh, are more effective in reducing runoff and trapping sediments.