Origins and Development Around The World
The first use of plastic film in agriculture was to in an effort to make a cheaper version of a glasshouse. In 1948 Professor E.M. Emmert built the first plastic greenhouse, a wooden structure covered with cellulose acetate film. He later switched this to a more effective polyethylene film. After this introduction of plastic film to agriculture it began being used at a larger scale around the world by the early 1950s to replace paper for mulching vegetables. By 1999 almost 30 million acres worldwide were covered in plastic mulch. Only a small percentage of this was in the United States (185 000 acres), the majority of this plastic growth was happening in economically poor areas of the world and previously unproductive desert regions, such as Almeria in southern Spain. The largest concentrations of greenhouses around the world are mainly found in two areas, with 80% throughout the Far East (China, Japan, Korea), and 15% in the Mediterranean basin. The area of greenhouse cover is still increasing at a fast rate, during the last decade it is estimated that it has been growing by 20% every year. Areas such as the Middle East and Africa are growing in their use of plastic greenhouses by 15-20% per year, compared to the weak growth in more developed and economically stable areas such as Europe. China leads the world’s growth at 30% per year, translating into a volume of plastic film reaching 1,000,000 t/year. In 2006 80% of the area covered by plastic mulch is found in China where it has a growth rate of 25% per year; this is the highest in the world.
Since its introduction in the 1950s, plastic film has been designed and developed to increase produce yield, increase produce size and shorten growth time. Developments in plastic film include durability, optical (ultraviolet, visible, near infrared, and middle infrared) properties, and the antidrip or antifog effect. Recent developments in this area include UV-blocking, NIR-blocking, fluorescent, and ultrathermic films.
Read more about this topic: Plasticulture
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