15 years old company, promoted by Mr.Rajeeb Kumar Roy, M. Tech, IIT, Kharagpur, in agriculture engineering.

Rajeeb Kumar Roy

Agriplast is a 15 years old company, promoted by Mr.Rajeeb Kumar Roy, M.Tech, IIT, Kharagpur, in agriculture engineering. He has over 15 years of experience in the Indian greenhouse industry. Agriplast specializes in the field of plastics in agriculture. The company is headquartered in Bangalore and has branch offices in Hosur, Tamilnadu. “Apart from that we have import points at Pune, Chandigarh, Guwahati under our distributors. This facilitates easier availability of the products to all our customers,” avers Mr. Roy.

Ginegar Plastic Products
Agriplast primarily markets Ginegar Platics Products in India. “We import about four to five different kinds of products for different climatic zones and crops in India from Ginegar Plastic Products Limited,” says Mr. Roy. The products include UVA clear, UVA 205 n (for roses, capsicum and tomatoes, gerbera, etc in Pune, Sangli, Bangalore belt), Sun Selector Clear Thermic Anti Drip SSEL 7.5 for carnations, gerbera in Ooty and Himachal, IR 504 which is Thermic, Anti Drip, Diffused, Anti Sulfur for roses, tomatoes, capsicum in North India. “We also import UVA clear anti drip for cold areas and hilly areas,” he adds.

Sun Selector
Sun Selector is brand name for Ginegar’s greenhouse film. “These plastic have additives which plays with the light spectrum and gives the best to the plant. For example we have a product called UVA 205 N. It is a UV blocker film, which does not allow the UV radiation up to 381 nanometers to enter the greenhouse. This part of the total spectrum of electromagnetic radiation is not necessary for photosynthesis,” explains Mr. Roy.

He adds, “Insects can see in the UV range as well as in the visible domain. Since the insects can not see many of the signals which they normally would see outdoors, when they are under UV blocker film, a considerable decrease in white fly, thrips and other insect activity has been observed inside the greenhouse covered with UV Blocker films. This leads to marked reduction in the use of insecticides. Insects are the carriers and transmitters of many viruses and since this film affects the insect activity it also is called Antivirus film.”[hidepost]

There are other advantages too. Blackening (or petal discoloration) of red roses, caused by UV radiation and low temperature, is a major problem for rose growers. A crop under UV Blocker film does not experience blackening of rose petals. The effect of the blocking of the UV radiation also helps in reducing the extent of the damage caused by the botrytis fungus.

Advantages of Plastic Mulch
Mulch More is a brand name for the mulch films produced by Ginegar. “All open field crops significantly benefit from the use of mulch. It leads to increased yield,” avers Mr. Roy. Plastic Mulch has the following advantages:

· Earlier crops (Precocity)
Plastic mulch raises the soil temperature in the planting bed which promotes faster crop development and earlier yields.

· Moisture Conservation
Water loss due to evaporation is reduced under plastic mulch. As a result, more uniform soil moisture is maintained and irrigation frequency may be reduced.

· Weed Control
Since black plastic mulch and other densely colored mulches prevent light from reaching the soil, growth of annual and most perennial weeds can be prevented. Weeds generally cannot survive under the mulch. Since there are no weeds in and around the target plant all the nutrients applied by fertigation is available for the cultivated plant. Hence the growth of the plant is better.

· Improved Quality
Plastic mulches insulate the plants from moist soil, preventing contact and dramatically reducing fruit rot: a drier microclimate reduces plant sensitivity to disease like downy mildew and botrytis, for e.g strawberry.

· Reduced Soil Compaction
Better weed control results in less cultivation. Undisturbed beds also remain more friable with less compaction. Weeds between beds can be controlled with directed herbicides or by mechanical means.

· Reduction in Fertilizer Losses
Flood and furrow irrigation techniques tend to leach nitrogen and other water soluble nutrients below the root zone. Since plastic mulch techniques generally include drip irrigation, nutrient loss is kept to a minimum. Nutrients can be injected into the drip system and accurately delivered to the root zone as needed.

· Insect Control
In some cases, reflective silver/black plastic mulches help repel aphids and other insects that damage plants and are vectors of viral diseases. Yellow/Brown mulch can help in reducing the white fly attack during the early stage of planting and until the plant foliage covers the yellow film and prevents the insects from seeing it.
· Better Microclimate in the Root Zone

The plastic mulch creates a micro greenhouse in the top layer of the soil. This becomes evident if we examine the root zone of the plants under mulch and we find a thick mat of white (healthy roots) as compared to the sparse root we will find in the similar kinds of plants not grown under mulch.

Solar Side and Solar Roof
Solar side and solar roof is a product Agriplast imports from a company called PIC- Plast from Israel. The company specializes in HDPE woven films. Solar side and solar roof are made from HDPE and are woven film. “This is different than the normal greenhouse film. Solar roof is used to cover the greenhouse and solar side is used for the sides of the greenhouse. Due to the basic nature of HPDE it is a very strong product with long guaranteed life of 5 years,” explains Mr. Roy.

This product is highly suitable for high wind fall area. Solar side is a great skirting film to be fixed at the lower level in the sides of the greenhouse where the plastic touches the ground. In many farms the soil has got stones, which damages the normal plastic. Solar side is a very strong and good substitution for normal plastic. It has one more advantage wherein it can be stitched with insect net, thus making the installation easy and greenhouse insect proof.

Some of its prominent clientele in India are Essar Agro tech, K. F Bio Plants, Namdhari Seeds, Irish Biotech, Pods Biotech, Ferns and Roses, Complete Greenhouse Solutions, Ace Agro, Gopalan Organics.

Spreading Awareness
When asked how the company spreads awareness about the benefits of greenhouse film, Mr. Roy says, “One of our strengths has been to create awareness among farmers to select the right kind of greenhouse covers. I always tell my clients that in our country most of the farmers are opting for naturally ventilated greenhouse. They invest most of the money to make the structures. The only job a naturally ventilated greenhouse structure does is to hold the plastic. It is very important to make the right selection of the plastic covering based on the location and the crop. Never negotiate and compromise on the right selection of plastic for the crop and location. We educate the farmers through literature, seminars, lectures and field demonstrations.”
According to Mr. Roy, in India the concentration of greenhouses are mainly in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Himachal, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Jharkhand and North Eastern states. “But greenhouse cultivation is picking up in a big way and is spreading all over India,” he maintains.

Other Products
Apart from the above products the company is also the sole distributors in India for insect nets from Klayman Meteor Israel and shading nets and aluminium nets from Polysack Israel. “We have also been marketing soil-less growing troughs from M/S Mapal Plastics, Israel. This is the futuristic product for modern agriculture,” says Mr. Roy.

Shade Nets
Shade nets are used mainly to control the amount of sunlight. It can be used both in open field cultivation as well as in greenhouses. Major crops under shade nets are nurseries, ornamentals, foliages, anthurium, capsicum, tomatoes, roses, gerbera, orchids etc. “There are two major advantages of shade nets. It reduces the incident solar radiation on the plant, thus making conducive conditions for plant growth. Shade also reduces the water loss through evaporation. This is an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to current labor consuming methods (such as pruning and thinning) and intensive use of growth regulators and other chemicals,” says Mr. Roy. Giving an estimate of cost of shade net for one acre of land, Mr. Roy says, “Cost depends on the type of net, percentage of shade factor and type of net. It ranges from Rs.26 for the basic black shade net to about Rs.75 per sq. m for specialized aluminum nets.”

Speaking about the future plans of the company, Mr. Roy says “We specialize in greenhouse film and all kind of agriculture plastic in India and we want to be identified by growers as the supplier of highest quality inputs in this field.”

Mr.Rajeeb Roy, Proprietor
No-13,Victorian Meadows
Airport Varthur Road, Behind Bageecha Resturant, Bangalore – 560 037
Tel : 0091 80 32917774
Telefax: 0091 80 28524804
Cell:0-9900174804, 0-9341286047
E mail: ginegar@vsnl.net[/hidepost]