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Soil Solarisation

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Recent advances in crop protection

Abstract

Solarisation is a technique that uses clear polyethylene film to cover moistened soil and trap lethal amounts of heat from solar radiation to reduce soil-borne pests. The capacity of soil solarisation to suppress propagule numbers of soil-borne pathogens relies on many factors. The temperatures obtained in the moistened soil covered by the transparent sheeting and the exposure time of the organisms to these elevated temperatures are both important characteristics of this pre-plant soil treatment. Solarisation has been effective in disease control in many geographical locations around the world. It is most successful in regions with the appropriate meteorological parameters such as high air temperatures and extended periods of high radiation.

Researchers found that solarisation could be a useful soil disinfestation method, especially in areas with hot and arid conditions during the summer months. In certain cases, the treatment has also been effective, primarily for weed management, in cooler coastal areas (Elmore CL, Stapleton JJ, Bell CE, DeVay JE, Soil solarization: a nonpesticidal method for controlling diseases, nematodes and weeds. UC DANR Pub 21377, Oakland, CA, 14pp, 1997). The pesticidal activity of solarisation was found to stem from a combination of physical, chemical and biological effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    P. Parvatha Reddy (Former Director)

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  1. P. Parvatha Reddy
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Reddy, P.P. (2012). Soil Solarisation. In: Recent advances in crop protection. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-0723-8_11

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