Controlling weeds in commercial crops without resorting to chemical herbicides that leave residues in harvests and compromise organic certification, while preserving soil moisture and keeping fruit clean without contact with the ground, requires polyethylene mulching plastic with UV additives adapted to Caribbean radiation and a color option suitable for the crop. This agricultural soil plastic—also called agricultural mulch, plastic mulching, or soil agrofilm—is manufactured by Gardese in 25 µm (gauge 100) LDPE, in three finishes (black, black-silver, black-white), in rolls 1.2 m wide and 1000 m long, designed for vegetables, berries, melons, pineapples, and row crops with drip irrigation.
Key Benefits
- Weed control by light blocking: Opaque plastic interrupts photosynthesis of spontaneous weeds in the growing bed, eliminating competition for water and nutrients and reducing or suppressing herbicide application, a decisive advantage for certified organic production.
- Soil moisture conservation: The impermeable cover eliminates direct evaporation, significantly reducing irrigation needs and maintaining stable moisture in the root zone for days after each application.
- Three color finishes for different crops: Black absorbs heat and raises soil temperature (ideal for watermelon, melon, pineapple in cold or seasonal soil); black-silver reflects light to the crop, increasing photosynthesis and repelling aphids; black-white maintains moderate temperature (optimal for strawberries, lettuce, and heat-sensitive crops).
- Compatible with subsurface drip irrigation: The drip tape is installed under the plastic before setup, allowing direct fertigation to the root system without evaporation and without water contact with the sun-exposed surface.
- Clean fruit without soil contact: The plastic physically separates fruit and soil, eliminating stains, contact rot, and bacterial contamination in crops such as strawberries, watermelons, melons, and cucumbers, a critical condition for export fruit.
Typical applications and uses
- Row horticultural crops: tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, zucchini, eggplant, young citrus in transition to open field.
- Strawberry and other berry production where fruit requires separation from the soil.
- Cucurbits (watermelon, melon, cucumber) and pineapple in areas with persistent weed problems or scarce water.
- Certified organic production that needs to control weeds without glyphosate or residual herbicides.
Quality and durability
An inexpensive mulching plastic fails in two ways: the LDPE is low-quality recycled material (which tears at the first pass of the tractor or manual installation) and lacks an adequate UV additive (which causes embrittlement and disintegration after a few months, leaving microfragments in the soil). Gardese works with controlled LDPE and UV additives calibrated for the Caribbean climate, which differentiates a professional crop mulch from a generic plastic that disintegrates before harvest.
Compatible with subsurface drip tape and drip line buried under the plastic — the standard setup for fertigation delivered straight to the root zone with no evaporation. Before laying the mulch, the irrigation line is installed on the leveled bed. It is also compatible with seep tape and flat tapes. NOT compatible with overhead sprinkling on top of the plastic (the droplets create a magnifying-glass effect), nor with free-flow flood irrigation (the plastic forms a barrier that diverts water off the bed). Drip + mulch is the most efficient combination.
Row crops where weed control, water conservation, and fruit cleanliness add value: vegetables such as tomato, pepper, cucumber, zucchini, and eggplant; berries such as strawberry, where the fruit must not touch the soil; cucurbits such as watermelon and melon; pineapple in industrial production. It is not used for dense cover crops such as grass or lawn. Nor for crops broadcast-sown directly (onion, carrot) without a preset framework. The choice of color (black, black-silver, black-white) depends on the crop and the target soil temperature.
Yes, sized for a full agricultural growing season under Caribbean radiation. The LDPE formulation incorporates a UV-HALS additive that delays degradation from intense sun, maintaining mechanical integrity throughout the growing cycle (typically 3-6 months). The black finish absorbs radiation and heats up more, which in heat-sensitive crops (strawberry, lettuce) is best offset by the black-white version that reflects part of the radiation. After harvest, the plastic is not reused for a new season due to accumulated embrittlement.
It blocks the solar radiation that weed seeds and regrowth need for photosynthesis. Without light they neither germinate nor develop in the planting bed, eliminating competition for water and nutrients with the main crop. This reduces or eliminates the need for pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides on the row, leaving only spot applications in the aisles between rows if weeds thrive there. For certified organic production, mulching is the main weed-control tool, since the seal does not allow glyphosate or synthetic herbicides.
Still have questions?
Ask us and we will gladly help you with whatever you need.
| Nominal thickness | 25 µm (100 gauge) |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Nominal width | 1.2 m (4 ft) |
| Nominal length | 1000 m (3280 ft) |
| Coverage area | 1200 m² (12916.7 sq ft) |
| Thickness limit deviation | +0.006 mm / -0.005 mm (+0.00024 in / -0.00020 in) |
| Average thickness deviation | +15% / -12% |
| Width limit deviation | +40 mm / -10 mm (+1.57 in / -0.39 in) |
| Maximum misalignment | ≤30 mm (≤1.18 in) |
| Tensile load (longitudinal/transverse) | >3.0 N (>0.67 lbf) |
| Nominal strain at break (longitudinal/transverse) | >320% |
| Right-angle tear load (longitudinal/transverse) | >1.5 N (>0.34 lbf) |
| Roll: Width | 22.0 cm (8.66 in) |
|---|---|
| Roll: Height | 22.0 cm (8.66 in) |
| Roll: Depth | 120.0 cm (47.24 in) |
| Roll: Weight | 28.2 kg |
Payment & Security
