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Soil Solarization – 30 Years On: What Lessons Have Been Learned?

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Recent Developments in Management of Plant Diseases

Part of the book series: Plant Pathology in the 21st Century ((ICPP,volume 1))

Abstract

Soil solarization (SH) in its present form was first introduced in 1976 in Israel. Shortly thereafter, it was investigated in the USA. Since then, it has been studied in over 60 countries, both developed and developing, in hot climate regions, but to some extent also in more humid and cooler regions. It is used by farmers in many countries. As with any new method, introduction of SH involved several stages covering both fundamental and applied aspects: (1) Exploring and documenting SH effectiveness (with respect to spectrum of pest control) in various regions and cropping systems. (2) Studying mechanisms of pathogen control (both physical and especially biological) and of crop-growth improvement. Models referring to physical and biological processes were developed. (3) Integrating SH with nonchemical and chemical (at reduced dosages) means. (4) Implementing SH. (5) Improving SH and adapting it to various uses. (6) Developing extension and training tools. SH is climate-dependent and has advantages and limitations. It is not connected with commercial companies, making its dissemination more difficult. Multidisciplinary studies, governmental support, knowledge transfer and international cooperation are essential for introducing nonchemical methods of control.

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  1. Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Jaacov Katan (Facuty of Agricultural)

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  1. Jaacov Katan
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  2. Abraham Gamliel
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Correspondence to Jaacov Katan .

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  1. Research Product Biology, Syngenta Crop Protection, Basel, 4002, Switzerland

    Ulrich Gisi

  2. Fac. Agriculture, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76 100, Israel

    I. Chet

  3. Centro di Competenza per, Università di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, Grugliasco, 10095, Italy

    Maria Lodovica Gullino

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Katan, J., Gamliel, A. (2010). Soil Solarization – 30 Years On: What Lessons Have Been Learned?. In: Gisi, U., Chet, I., Gullino, M. (eds) Recent Developments in Management of Plant Diseases. Plant Pathology in the 21st Century, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8804-9_19

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