http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html
by Ken Umbach
California's
important Velcro crop, vital to the clothing, footwear, and sporting goods
industries, has been severely stressed by drought, disease, and pests.
VelcroŽ, an engineered crop, consists of two distinct strains: hooks and loops. As any user of Velcro knows, a strip of hooks clings to a strip of loops as the springy hook-shaped fibers latch through tiny but firm loops. Gentle pressure allows the hook strip to be pulled from the loop strip. The user may repeat the process time and again, making this product a convenient, versatile replacement for zippers, buttons, snaps, laces, and other forms of fastener in wide-ranging applications.
California's
climate and soil conditions make the state an ideal venue for and successful
producer of both strains of Velcro. For obvious reasons, of course, the hook
strain must be grown in fields separated from those with the loop strain. This
is often accommodated by widely spacing separate fields of the two strains among
large expanses of cotton, alfalfa, or other crops.
For
competitive and industrial confidentiality reasons, of course, the crop is not
widely highlighted in crop reports. A little Velcro goes a long way, as both
strains are densely packed on their respective mature plants, and the entire
crop is dwarfed by other field crops, most notably cotton. Nonetheless, the crop
is of high value and can be a substantial profit builder for the successful
grower.
Three issues have conspired to threaten and diminish the crop in California's southern San Joaquin Valley, especially drought-affected Kern County.
Crop management for Velcro is made especially difficult by the need to outfit field workers head-to-toe in TeflonŽ jumpsuits. (The Teflon crop is another issue, to be tackled in a future report in this series.) Absent such protection, field workers are in danger of becoming enmeshed in the Velcro bolls while working the fields. Clothing and even body hair may become entangled with the hooks or loops, requiring difficult extraction procedures. The Teflon jumpsuits in turn require personal cooling equipment and expensive maintenance. When available, it is preferable to hire a crew composed entirely of professional body builders, who are both strong and hairless from head to toe.
All
in all, cultivation is a demanding and costly process, making profit margins
unusually vulnerable to price swings and crop productivity losses.
As the chart and table below so starkly show, the combined assaults on the Velcro crop have had marked effects.
In view of the singular nature of this specialized crop and its high contribution, when successful, to the financial well-being of the farmers who have the tenacity to grow it:
The respective agricultural commissioners and extension personnel should emphasize proper spacing requirements for fields of the hook and loop strains. Research, training, and inspection are all necessary.
Responsible
officials should redouble efforts to eradicate flaccidity virus and millipedus
minisculus.
Water
officials should accommodate the special needs of this high value crop in
determining allocations, especially in years of water shortage.
By
these means, it should be possible to restore the vigor, productivity, and
profitability of this specialized but significant crop.
Postscript (December 1996). The return
of relatively normal rainfall patterns, together with sunspot conditions that
have decimated flaccidity virus and millipedus minisculus, have contributed to a
strengthened Velcro crop, but no one knows what the future might bring. Consider
investing in zippers and buttons.
Article found at http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html