Agro Textiles: Introduction: Agriculture and textiles are the largest industries in the world providing basic needs

such as food and clothing. Agro textiles are now days extensively being used in horticulture, farming and other agricultural activities. The usage of agro textiles will be benefited in terms of products with enhanced quality, higher yields fewer damages and bearable losses. It also permits as to use lower quantities of weed killers and pesticides. Agro textiles - Fabric Forms: There are different forms of agro textiles are available such as Nets, Sheets, Woven, Nonwoven, Knitted and Coated. A comprehensive range of woven and knitted fabrics, nets and meshes for landscaping, horticulture and agriculture, protective textiles it is mainly used. Agro textiles - Fibers Used: There is use of synthetics as well as natural fibers in agro textiles. Fibers used in agro textiles are as follows: Nylon Polyester Polyethylene Polyolefin Polypropylene Jute Wool Among all these fibers the Polyolefin is extensively used where as among natural jute and wool is used it not only serve the purpose but also after some year it degrades and act as the natural fertilizer.

General Property Requirement of Agrotextiles: The properties required for agro textiles are: Weather resistance- It must work effectively in cold as well as hot climatic conditions Resistance to microorganisms-it must resistant to microorganism to protect the living being Stable construction- the construction must be such that it must be stable for any application Lightweight- the weight of the fabric should be such that it will bare by the plant. Construction Details: Hail protection: Hail protection fabrics helps shield vines from the fruit damage and defoliation associated with hail yet still lets through plenty of sunlight.

Constructional Details: Fibre : UV stabilized Polyethylene Diameter of Monofilament : 0.25 to 0.3 mm Mesh Width : 10 x 4 mm Weave : Leno Knitted Design : Raschel Warp diamond design

Properties: Long lasting, tear resistant, rip resistant. High ultraviolet stabilization for long life Service life: 15-20 years

Wind protection Fabrics: Trees that are protected from wind are generally healthier, reach full growth more rapidly, and have higher yield. Wind Break Fabrics protect crops from wind and, in some cases, orchard temperatures can be increased by reducing wind speed.

Construction Details: UV stabilized fabric from UV stabilized polyethylene monofilaments both woven and knitted form. Properties: Strong, long lasting. UV resistance High tear resistance.

Soil Covers or landscape Covers or Weed protection fabrics:

The relevant parameters for an agro textile, used as soil cover, will be determined based on laboratory tests and field experiments.

The relevant parameters for soil cover fabric features: Woven polypropylene fabric

 Controls weed growth for agricultural settings Permeable (allows water to pass through) Colored stripes every 12" make for easy plant alignment Ideal for greenhouses or outdoors where weeds need to be controlled UV stabilized for extended life. 100 % Polypropylene

Shade Fabrics:

Shade fabric absorbing 90% of sunlight. It is made from 100% polypropylene monofilament strands. It is UV stabilized to hold up under the most extreme solar conditions. It can be used for a variety of applications: wind and privacy screen, shading for sports and recreation. Knitted Sunshade cloth is made from 100% UV stabilized polyethylene. Its unique lock stitch construction allows customers the ability to cut the fabric with scissors without further unraveling. Insect Repellent Fabrics: Various pests like Whitefly, scale insects attack some ornamental plants and vegetables frequently. The fabrics of such kind are stretched across the open-air plantations so that the pests can no longer get to the plants and also the climate will not be disturbed in any way.

Constructional Details: Weave : Linen Material: Polyethylene monofilament yarns Yarn Diameter : 0.25 mm

Temperature Controlled Fabrics: Temperature Control fabric is a nonwoven, spun bonded polyester fabric designed to protect crops from cold, frost, insects and a variety of adverse environmental factors. Temperature Control fabric helps captures heat on sunny days and retains heat radiating from the ground at night. This aids in protecting sensitive ornamentals, nursery stock and foliage 24 hours a day.