ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the plastics in agriculture, the consequences of particulate plastics on soil organisms and plants, and then describes methods that are being developed to reduce plastic contamination due to agriculture. Since the middle of the 1950s, plastic polymers, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, have been widely used in agriculture, and they have allowed farmers to increase crop production. Plastics are used in agriculture in many different ways, including for manufacture of greenhouses, high tunnels, low tunnels, plastic mulches, bags for fruits, windbreaks, and seed coatings. The use of plastic mulch in agriculture has increased dramatically throughout the world due to the large increases in yields of both horticultural and field crops obtained with them. Disposal of plastics from agriculture has long been recognized as a problem. Plastics are used in drip-irrigation tubing, tape, pipes, filters, fittings and connectors, containers for growing plants, and packaging materials including bags for grain.
