ISHS Acta Horticulturae 710: International Symposium on Greenhouses, Environmental Controls and In-house Mechanization for Crop Production in the Tropics and Sub-Tropics
ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE METHOD FOR SOIL-BORNE PEST CONTROL IN GREENHOUSES |
| Author: | A.A. Almasoum |
| Keywords: | methyl bromide, solarization, clear mulch, black mulch, soil borne pests, greenhouses |
| Abstract:
In order to maximize yields and to increase profit, crop producers need to protect their plants, as well as their stored goods. In doing so there have been many negative effects of using pesticides to control insects that plaque them. Pesticides, somehow, seem not only to affect the pests, but also, indirectly, hurt humans. Health problems such as cancer for example have been linked to pesticide accumulation in groundwater. Because methyl bromide has been implicated in the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer, current laws require the chemical’s use be reduced by 75% by 2003, and then eliminated altogether in 2005. The loss of what has been an extremely effective fumigant has increased interest in alternatives. Solarization, which is a simple technique by which moist soil temperature raised when covered by polyethylene sheets, during hot summer months, has been widely used for control of soil-borne pests. Solarization significantly increases soil temperature under both transparent and black mulches, as compared to uncovered control plots. The mean maximum temperature during the hottest month (July) reached 60.3, 56.0 and 43.0°C at 5 cm depth under transparent mulch, black mulch and control plots, respectively, in an experiment conducted previously in the United Arab Emirates. Solarization reduced soil-borne pests population, improved the quality of the crop, and saved the environment as no chemicals were used. Although solarization can be a very useful strategy to help replace chemical fumigants and develop integrated pest and production management programs in protected cultivations, there are limitations on its usefulness. Current limitations include nonconductive climatic zones, which limit soil heating, reduced heating deeper in soil, in addition to plastics disposals. | |
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