1993/01/01 by William James Lament
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems #Irrigation Practices and Water Management #Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.21273/horttech.3.1.35
openalex publication_date 1993/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/06
The development of polyethylene as a plastic film in 1938 and its subsequent introduction as a plastic mulch in the early 1950s revolutionized the commercial production of selected vegetable crops. Throughout the succeeding years, research, extension, and industry personnel, together with growers, have documented the advantages of using plastic mulch as one component of a complete intensive vegetable production system. Although a variety of vegetables can be grown successfully using plastic mulches, muskmelons, honeydews, watermelons, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, sweet corn, and cole crops have shown significant increases in earliness, total yield, and quality. Research continues on field evaluation of new formulations of degradable, wavelength-selective, and colored plastic mulches and on cropping systems to use best these specific improvements. The use of plastic mulches for the production of vegetable crops continues to increase throughout the United States and the world.