Innovative ecological agricultural textiles*

Agricultural textiles are applied as a protective barrier against birds and insects, but also as ground covers against weeds and as protection from environmental factors. To protect plants from insects and other pests, pesticides and other protective agents are also used since a textile barrier is often insufficient or is not feasible. As these products have to be applied regularly, their use is costly and time-consuming. The situation also becomes more complicated when a textile is used to protect the field against other influences (e.g. frost). The application of pesticides and other protective agents in or on to the agricultural textile itself, enabling the active substances to be continuously released by the textile, is a viable alternative. Insecticides used in the agricultural sector pose an environmental problem, which cannot be solved even by incorporating them into textiles. A silica-based, ecological alternative will therefore be presented in this article.