As the use of plasticulture technology in agricultural production grows, consumers will notice higher quality produce for a cheaper price, a Penn State professor said.

In 1998, the Center for Plasticulture, which is housed in the department of horticulture, was created to research and study plasticulture, which uses plastics in different phases of agricultural production.

"Plasticulture uses plastics to optimize the environment that plants grow in," said Michael D. Orzolek, professor of vegetable crops.

"It creates more optimum conditions for plants, and in some cases, prevents crops from being damaged by wind."

Eric Burkhart (graduate-horticulture) said plasticulture is important because of competition with other states.

"In our region and throughout the mid-Atlantic States, we are pinched as fresh market producers because we must compete against other states with more favorable climates such as Florida and California," Burkhart said.

"With plasticulture, we can produce different quality fruits and vegetables through season extension that we wouldn't usually be able to produce."

High tunnels, mulches, irrigation and planting containers are all examples of how plastic can be used in agriculture.

High tunnels, which look and act similar to greenhouses, are structures covered in six-millimeter-thick plastic.

"High tunnels enable growers to produce crops in areas where they don't usually grow, because the temperature can be controlled," Orzolek said.

Jayson K. Harper, professor of agricultural economics, said in the article "The Economics of High Tunnels: Cost of Production and Marketing" that high tunnels can do many things.

They reduce temperature and moisture fluctuations during the growing season, extend growing seasons, allow for biological pest control, involve more precise water and nutrient applications and reduce the total amount of pesticides used.

Polyethylene film is used as mulch in vegetable production. The film can be 0.015 to 1.5 millimeters thick and comes in different colors such as red, silver and green.

The color of the mulch can influence the growth of crops grown on it, Orzolek said. For example, when tomatoes are grown on red mulch as opposed to black mulch, there is a 12 percent increase in marketable fruit yield during a three-year period.

"Drip irrigation is another method used in plasticulture, and it can cut water usage by 50 percent," Orzolek said. "Also, diseases are minimized because the drip tape is located underneath the plastic, so the leaf surface is non-wet and less susceptible to disease."

Another benefit of using plastics in agriculture is that a grower will receive a fairly substantial return of profit for investment, Orzolek said.

"It would cost around $500 to $700 an acre to buy the materials needed for plasticulture," Orzolek said, "but a grower can receive anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000 return for an acre.

"The only drawback to plasticulture is what to do with the materials after they are used," Orzolek said. "Should we bury them, sell them, burn them?"

There is a solution to this problem, which involves feeding plastic into a large machine that compresses the material into small, condensed nuggets. These nuggets can then be mixed with coal, put into a furnace and utilized for heat.

Testing on this process is being done, and soon it will come into regular use, Orzolek said.

"Once the issue of where the used plastic will go is resolved, the plasticulture industry will grow tremendously, even within the next two years," Orzolek said.

For more information on plasticulture technology, visit the department of horticulture Web site (http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu).