By: Rupali Kapoor, Rupa Mohanta and Yogita Agrawal

INTRODUCTION

Food, clothing and shelter are the three basic needs of the human being. The human being started using the fibers as human clothing from the Old Stone Age; later on textiles come up with the large areas of applications mainly known as industrial textiles. An important application of the textiles in agriculture is in the protection against extreme climatic conditions.

A textile fabric has a long history of application in agriculture. The word “Agrotextiles” now is used to classify the woven, nonwoven and knitted fabrics applied for agricultural & horticultural uses covering livestock protection, shading, weed and insect control, and extension of the growing season. Agrotextiles help to keep sufficient soil humidity and increase the soil temperature.

Return ample gauze weaves; for example, protect the harvests of fruits against the damage caused by the hail.

Preliminary studies have shown that using woven of return gauze are possible to increase the harvest of fruits in a 30% under favorable conditions of time and until in a 50% under unfavorable conditions. The agro textiles are also used to prevent the growth of injurious weeds to agriculture.

Need Of Agrotextiles

They prevent the soil from drying out increase crop yield
» They improve product quality
» Agro textiles protects farmer from harmful pesticides
» Thermal protection textiles are treated with ultraviolet ray stabilizers.
» The best-known products are shade netting and thermal screens, the use of which can save up to 40% on energy in heating greenhouses
» Their use improves the quality of fruit, prevents staining and improves uniformity of color
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Forms Of Agrotextiles

There are different forms of agro textiles are available such as : -
• Nets
• Sheets
• Woven
• Nonwovens
• Knitted
• Novel
• Coated

A comprehensive range of woven and knitted fabrics, nets and meshes for landscaping, horticulture and agriculture, protective textiles it is mainly used.

Fibers Used

There is use of synthetics as well as natural fibers in agro textiles. Fibers used in agro textiles are as follows: -