Development of New Plastic Materials for Agriculture: 'Cenit Mediodia' (Midday Zenith) Project

摘要

In recent years improvements in the protected agriculture sector are becoming more and more significant. The opportunities for technological advancement in the field of plastic covers and materials for greenhouses are dependent on the development and use of new covers which permit better climate control and higher productivity allowing crops to be harvested at the most economically advantageous time (early/late production, quality, etc.). Furthermore, it will be necessary for the new materials to adapt to developments in structures (mobile covers) or crop systems (integrated production). This is the reason for which the "Cenit Mediodia" Project was conceived, one of its main tasks being the development of plastic materials for agriculture. This article describes some of the breakthroughs achieved with these materials and the results obtained in the field trials carried out at three geographically different locations: The Ebro Valley (Navarre), Continental (Madrid) and Mediterranean (Murcia/ Almeria).