Second international conference on soil solarization and integrated management of soilborne pests: Program and abstracts book.

Abstract

Soil solarization, a procedure used primarily for the disinfestation of soil, was described over 20 years ago and quickly became of intense interest because it was nonchemical, environment friendly, and was an effective approach for integrated pest management. online principles of soil solarization and its multiple mechanisms of action for managing plant pathogens have been well defined. However, much remains to be done to define the changes in soil chemistry and biology that induce the increased growth response and crop yields that are associated with its use. Environmental conditions, such as air temperature, day length, and hours of sunlight are limiting in some agricultural regions for effective soil solarization; however, these limitations may be compensated for during solarization in greenhouses. This greenhouse effect can also be accomplished by using double layers of plastic sheets separated by 2 to 3 cm under field conditions. Future advances in soil solarization can be accomplished with improvements in plastic b, the use of double layers of plastic sheets, the addition of organic amendments to the soil, and the introduction of biocontrol organisms into solarized soil.