Protected Cultivation - Green house Soil sterilization - In protected cultivation like greenhouses, it is very important to fumigate the soil/media before plantation of any crop. Sterilization of ...soil is the process of destroying diseases, pests and weeds. Microorganisms can be killed, inhibited or removed by exposing materials to lethal agents, which may be physical, chemical or ionic in nature. Normally, Formalin is used for soil fumigation/sterilization by the farmers in India at a rate of 7.5 lit/100 sqm. It is the cheap and effective method to kill most of the fungi and nematodes is by using formaldehyde solution for sterilization i.e. 7.5 liter formaldehyde per 100 m2 area. The soil/ media should be drenched with formaldehyde and immediately covered with air tight polythene film for 4-5 days. Soon after, treated land should be watered thoroughly with 100 lit of water per sqm to drain off chemicals. For soil sterilization, process sequence may be as under. Ploughing (Loosening of soil) Watering/ wetting of soil before sterilization Formalin (1:10) in water (160 lit in 1600 lit of water) Drenching of chemical Covering of soil/ media with polythene after sterilization(5 days) Watering/ washing of soil after sterilization (100 litre water per sqm) Waiting for two weeks before planting It is observed that most of the farmers having greenhouses in India avoid soil fumigation and thus face lots of problems of soil born diseases during cultivation of vegetables. When interviewed these farmers, it was understood that most of the farmers do not have knowledge of soil sterilization. Therefore it is very important for farmers to undergo proper training before entering into greenhouse cultivation. SUNCOOL has developed a soil solarization film that can be used during fumigation to avoid soil born diseases and kill harmful insects in soil and avoid huge damage of crop and earn more profits. Following are some snaps of how soil is sterilized before plantation.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 11:52:56 +0000
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