  The one-dimensional kinetic contact process with parallel update is
introduced and studied by Monte Carlo simulations. This process is proposed to
describe the plant population replication and epidemic disease spreading among
them. The phase diagram of the model features the line of the second order
transitions between absorbing and active phases. The numerical results for the
critical index beta demonstrate its continuous variation along the transition
line accompanied by the variations of the structural characteristics of
limiting steady states. We conjecture the non-universality of the critical
behavior of the model.
