Soil Temperature Data

Film Type	1st day	1 week	2 weeks	6 weeks
Black	60 f	61 f	77 f	94 f
White 52% coex over black	60 f	65 f	73 f	89 f
White 65% coex over black	60 f	63 f	75 f	85 f
White Mono-ply	60 f	58 f	68 f	81 f
IRT Olive Thermic	60 f	73 f	74 f	98 f
IRT Green Thermic	60 f	75 f	76 f	96 f
IRT Brown Thermic	60 f	74 f	75 f	97 f
Silver UV	60 f	70 f	76 f	90 f
Blue UV	60 f	74 f	75 f	99 f
Red UV	60 f	70 f	77 f	95 f

you can view a graph of this data below

University testing gives us this view of how different films affect growing conditions.The data in this table was generated in central Pennsylvania during May and June 1999 and is representative of 3 years of testing.

Soil temperatures rise more quickly under the thermic films when compared to black control film. This appears to increase early yields but does not appear to increase total marketable yields. Blue films have been shown to increase marketable yields in cucurbits and appear to heat the soil as much as the thermics.