The Benefits of Plastics in Agriculture

Modern agriculture currently depends heavily on plastics. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the use of plastics makes agriculture vastly more efficient. Secondly, it reduces agriculture’s overall environmental impact. Here are just some of the ways the use of plastics achieves both goals.

To explain further, Nick Mills, General Manager at Ansini shares his insights into the benefits of plastics in agriculture. 

Preparing the land 

Land used for crops is usually still ploughed between growing seasons. These days that task is performed by a tractor. That tractor will need plastic for at least some of its components. 

Once the land itself is prepared, the farmer may need to create shelter for the crops. It’s now relatively unusual for commercial agricultural operations to use old-fashioned glass greenhouses. If greenhouses are used, they’re made of plastic. Even plastic greenhouses, however, are relatively uncommon. Farmers use high- and/or low-tunnels instead. Again, these are usually made of plastic. 

There are several reasons why plastic is preferred over glass. The most obvious one is safety. You can get safety glass but it’s more expensive than plastic. It’s also heavier. This means it’s more expensive to transport. It can also be harder to install. Likewise, glass has no flexibility to it. Plastic, by contrast, is known for its flexibility. 

In some cases, there may be a final step in preparing the land. This is putting in signage to guide workers. Plastic is often used for this due to its flexibility and robustness. It can be used to create anything from small tags to label crops to large signs with health-and-safety guidance. 

Planting the crops 

Most seeds will be transported in sealed plastic bags. Seedlings will be transported in plastic trays (or sometimes plastic pots). In both cases, the main reasons for choosing plastic packaging are hygiene, robustness, cost-effectiveness, convenience, and efficiency. 

In this context, one of the main benefits of plastic is that it can be clearly and easily printed on. That means key information can be included on the packaging itself instead of (or as well as) being provided separately. This facilitates quicker working. 

Being able to work at speed is even more important in commercial agriculture than in other industries. Today, most industries work in fairly controlled environments. This means that any time pressure tends to be from the need to fulfil commercial agreements. In commercial agriculture, however, farmers also have to deal with the weather. 

It’s also worth noting that the job of planting will be done by a tractor. As with ploughing, that tractor will depend on plastic for at least some of its components. 

Growing the crops 

Achieving maximum yields requires delivering exactly the right amounts of water and nutrients. Keeping costs to a minimum requires ensuring that there is as little waste as possible. Plastic plays a key role in making this happen. 

Water 

Some commercial operations may use plastic to deliver water to plants. Laying down irrigation systems can get water right to the roots of plants no matter what the weather. They are both more convenient and less wasteful than manual watering. The reduction in waste can be more than enough to justify the installation costs, especially when plastic is used. 

The benefits of plastic compared to metal are similar to the benefits of plastic compared to glass. It’s more robust, particularly with regards to managing changing temperatures. It’s lighter, more affordable, and more flexible. All of this combined means that plastic-based irrigation systems can be used in places where it would be impractical to install metal ones. 

Even when crops don’t need irrigation, plastic can still help to conserve water. Plastic mulch traps water beneath it. This ensures more of it goes to the plants instead of being evaporated. 

Nutrients 

If farmers have to add nutrients to the soil, then these will almost certainly come in plastic packaging. The reasons for this are essentially the same as for plastic seed packaging. Plastic packaging is hygienic, robust, cost-effective, convenient, and efficient. 

Protection from disease and pests 

Farmers don’t just have to worry about the weather. They also have to worry about their crops being attacked by diseases and pests. Then they have to worry about wildlife getting more of their harvest than they do. 

Plastic helps to protect against all of these issues. Using plastic mulch creates a physical barrier between crops, diseases, pests, and some wildlife. This can vastly reduce the need for chemical weed killers. It, therefore, helps the environment as well as reducing costs for the farmer.

Similarly, plastic netting helps to protect crops from larger forms of wildlife such as rabbits and birds. It’s completely harmless to them. They just can’t work out how to get past it. Plastic tree guards help to protect trees (especially young ones) from being destroyed by deer. 

Harvesting the crops

Plastic’s role in harvesting is very similar to its role in seeding. One interesting difference is that, even today, quite a bit of harvesting is still done by hand. That means plastic is often required for personal protective equipment (PPE).  

Once the crop has been harvested, it needs to be stored. Some crops (e.g., hay and silage) may simply be wrapped in plastic. This means that they can be stored wherever is convenient. Without plastic wrapping, they would need to be transported somewhere they could be kept safe from the elements (particularly water). 

Most crops are put into some form of plastic packaging. The specific packaging used will depend on how delicate they are. For example, most root vegetables can just be put into plastic sacks. These are then sealed for hygiene and convenience.  

Hard fruits like apples, however, need a bit more protection. These typically go into trays, often with some padding. Soft fruits like berries usually go into punnets. Plastic packaging for fresh produce often has small holes in it for ventilation. This balances the need to protect the produce from contaminants with the need for it to be able to breathe. 

Transporting the crops 

These days, relatively few crops are sold directly to consumers. Even those that are will have to be transported to their end destination. Using plastic packaging gives the produce a high level of protection while keeping the weight low.