The idea of adding plastic to the soil (that's what I'm reading polymer as) to improve crop yields sounds reasonable IFF the polymer also degrades reasonably.

The idea of adding plastic to the soil (that's what I'm reading polymer as) to improve crop yields sounds reasonable IFF the polymer also degrades reasonably. Given that caveat, sounds like a shortcut to getting some of the moisture-retaining properties of high-carbon soils without the pain of transforming dirt to that kind of soil naturally.