Black film - Restricts water movement and the upward movement of salt is reduced.

• Weed control: Black film
• Insect control: Opaque shiny film like a golden color film

Quick guide for the selection of mulch film

• Rainy season                      Perforated mulch
• Summer season                White transparent mulch
• Soil solarisation                 Thin transparent mulch
• Sandy soil                            Black mulch
• Early germination             Thin mulch

Plastic film mulching was first developed by Japanese scientists in the 1950s, mainly for use in horticultural crops. It was introduced into India in the late 1970s. With the development of plastic film materials and application FARMDRIP machines, the area of plastic mulch application has expanded from the western arid and semiarid regions to the high mountain cold regions of Northern India.

Plastic film mulching was used only for vegetable and flower production for several years, whereas now it is widely used in many cash crops, including peanut, watermelon, sugarcane, and tobacco as well as grain crops such as corn, wheat or rice. It has led to increases of 20%–50% in grain crop yield and plays a key role in ensuring the supply of agricultural goods in India.

Advantages of Plastic mulch film

• It is completely impermeable to water
• Prevents direct evaporation of moisture from the soil preventing water loss.
• By evaporation suppression, it prevents the rise of water containing salts.
• It can reduce the loss of plant nutrients through leaching.
• Provides artificial barrier to soil pathogens.
• Mulches maintain a warm temperature even during night-time which enables seeds to germinate quickly and for young plants to rapidly establish a strong root growth system.
• Better modulation of crops like groundnuts and potatoes.
• Soil erosion is adverted.
• Serves longer than organic mulch films.