AGROTEXTILES-AN EMERGING

FIELD
by
Dr. Anupam Kumar, Eshan Bansal,
Ramandeep Singh

Department Of Textile Engineering

GZS PTU CAMPUS, BATHINDA
 WHAT IS AGROTEXTILES ?

Agrotextiles are special textiles intended

for use in agriculture, horticulture,
fisheries and forestry in order to boost
production, quality and protection from
adverse climatic conditions.
 NEED FOR AGROTEXTEXTILES

• Global industrialisation
• Increasing population pressure
• Limited resources
– WATER
– ENERGY
• Ecological Problems
 SELECTION OF AGROTEXTILE
PRODUCT
• Depends upon the type of soil
• Protection requirement of the crops
• Climatic and irrigation requirement of
the crops
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
AGROTEXTILES
• Withstand solar and u.v radiations
• Resistance to micro-organisms
• High potential to retain water
• Prevent the soil from drying out
• Decrease the requirement of fertilisers,
pesticides, water
• Protects from climatic changes and its effects
 RAW MATERIALS USED FOR
MANUFACTURING AGROTEXTILES
• Man-Made Fibers
– E.g. polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester,
nylon, synthetic polymers in different forms
such as tape yarn, monofilament yarn ,
multifilament yarn
• Natural Fibers
– E.g. cotton, jute, wool etc
 ADVANTAGES

• Using MMF’S
– favourable price, easy to transport and
setting up, space saving, durability etc
• Using Natural fibers
– biodegradability but has low service
life as compared to synthetics
 AGROTECH PRODUCTS

• Shade nets
• Mulch mats
• Crop covers
• Anti hail nets and Bird protection nets
• Fishing nets
SHADE NETS
Percentage of light that pass through
the fabric

Degree of shade varies from 25% to

90 %

‘Colour shade netting’ a new

concept

Modification of incident light for

manipulation of plant morphology

Increase light scattering by 50% or

more

Made of HDPE or polypropylene by

weaving or knitting

Tough , durable, tear resistant and

light weight
 RECOMMENDED SHADE%
ACCORDING TO TYPE OF CROP
Type of Crop Recommended shading by
manufacturers
Roses, Strawberries, Gooseberries, 25%
Tomatoes, Cucumber and fruit bearing  
plants

Pot and foliage plants and Cut greens, 50%

Orchids, Anthuriums, Ginger  

Indoor plants, Orchids, Plantation 75%

crops, Tea, Coffee, Cardamom  

Cattle sheds, Poultry houses, and vehicular 95%

shades  
MULCH MATS
Covering of soil surface around the plants so
as to create congential conditions for plant
growth. This include
●
Moisture and soil conservation
●
Temperature moderation
●
Salinity and weed control

Exerts a decisive effect on

earliness, yield and quality of crop
●
Crop requirement
●
Intended time for usage

Made of natural fibers such as wool and

jute or MMF’S LLDPE, HDPE in the form
of woven , non woven and mulch films

Thickness of mulch films is

dependent upon

Used mainly in vegetables

and few fruit crops
RECOMMENDED THICKNESS VALUE
ACCORDING TO TYPE OF CROP
Thickness Coverage Type of crops
(Micron) (sq. m. per kg)  
 

7 140  
  Short duration crops (3 to 4 months)

25 40
 

50 20 Medium duration crops (11-12 months)

 

100 10 Long duration crops (more than 12

months)
 
ANTI-HAIL NETS
To protect crops like apple, litchi etc from
hails in hail prone areas and high altitude
areas like HP, J&K,UP, North-Eastern States
etc.

Normally provided for each

individual tree

Made from HDPE yarn or a

combination of HDPE monofilament
and tape in knitted form

Hole size of 2*100 mm to allow

the crops to receive a minimum
level of shade

GSM varies from 60 to 100

BIRD PROTECTION
NETS
To protect the crops like grapes,
guava, pomegranate from huge
losses caused by birds like parrots

Optimum hole size to keep

movement of bees and to keep
shade minimum i.e., around 20%

Made from Polypropylene or

HDPE monofilament yarn in
knitted form

Ultra light fabrics with GSM

around 25-40

Generally, Green, Blue or

White in colour
CROP COVERS
Creation of microenvironment for seed
germination and seedling growth in
winter season

Improvement in seed bed

conditions

Protection against rain, hail,

wind, insects etc

Available in woven, non woven

or in the form of sheet/film

Made of propylene using

spun bond technique

Light in weight with GSM

b/w 20-30
FISHING NETS
Key technical textiles used in
fishing industry

Transparency and invisibility in

water

High tensile strength, high knot

breaking strength, high abrasion
resistance and low drag resistance

Made from nylon and HDPE

twines either in monofilament or
multifilament form

Mesh size ranges from 10 mm

to 2000 mm based on area and
method of application
 Potential of the market-sizing for Agrotech in India

  Domestic Usage 2007-2008 2012-2013

PRODUCTS      
Shade nets Quantity 2000 hectare 2676 hectare
or 2800MT or 3747MT

Value Rs 28 crore Rs 37.47 crore

Mulch mats Quantity 6000 hectare 35000 hectare
or 900MT or 7000MT

Value Rs 12.6 crore Rs 98 crore

Crop covers Quantity 1000MT 2500MT
Value Rs 10 crore Rs 25 crore
Antihail nets and Quantity 135 MT 325 MT
bird protection nets
Value Rs 4 crore Rs 9.75 crore
Fishing nets Quantity 15343 million MT 19582 million MT
Value Rs 442.1 crore Rs 564 crore
VALUE WISE SHARE OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS IN AGROTECH
MARKET (2009- 2010)
NATIONAL
HORTICULTURE
MISSION (NHM)
Actively promoting the usage of Fig. Percentage expenditure under different components of NHM SCHEME
agrotech products in India
through subsidies and annual
plans for the states

Includes the agrotech products

aimed at plant protection under
the protective cultivation in the
state-wise action plans

XI th plan envisages to expand

the area under mulching by
1,00,000 hectares

XI th plan also aims at providing

assistance for procuring anti-hail
nets in the hail prone areas
VALUE WISE CAGR OF AGROTECH PRODUCTS
(2009-2010 to 2012-2013)
VOLUME WISE SHARE OF EXPORTS IN THE
PRODUCTION OF TOP FIVE PRODUCTS
 CONCLUSION
• Agrotextiles are essential in controlling environment for crop
production, eliminate variations in climate and generate
optimum conditions for plant growth.
• The growth of this segment depends upon the performance of
agricultural sector, on awareness and acceptance of these
products by the farming community.
• The subsidies extended by the NHM will continue to play a
crucial role in increasing the consumption of these products.
• Centre Of Excellence (COE) for Agrotextiles have been
established to promote and develop agrotextile.