COVERING PLASTIC FILMS FOR PROTECTED TABLE GRAPE CULTIVATION In the last years, mainly in the southern regions of Italy, a wide dissemination of the protected cultivation of table grape in order to advance or to extend the harvesting period has been observed. The modification of the microclimate under the covering plastic films is closely related to their physical characteristics particularly to the radiometric ones like the transmissivity in the solar and long wave IR range. In the present research the radiometric characteristics of the plastic films used to advance the harvesting period in the table grape cultivation have been studied. Two different plastic films, LDPE and EVA, have been analysed by means of laboratory spectrophotometric tests and their radiometric characteristics have been evaluated. A trial was carried out in field in order to evaluate the effect of these two materials on the climatic parameters under the covering such as air temperature and solar radiation. The climatic parameters and the radiometric characteristics of the plastic films have been related moreover with the obtained agronomic results in the field trial in order to define the effect of the variation of the physical characteristics of the covering materials on the cultivation of table grape.