Abstract
Pre-plant methods for managing soil-borne pests and diseases are an important priority for many agricultural production systems. This study investigates whether the application of steam is an economically sustainable pre-plant soil disinfestation technique for organic and conventional strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) production in California’s Central Coast region. We analyze net returns from field trials using steam and steam + mustard seed meal (MSM) as pre-plant soil disinfestation treatments. ANOVA tests identify statistically significant differences in net revenues by treatment and trial. Multivariate regressions estimate the magnitude of these effects. Predictive polynomial models identify relationships between net returns and two treatment characteristics: maximum temperature (°C) and time at ≥60 °C (minutes). For organic production, net returns are statistically similar for the steam and steam + MSM treatments. For conventional production, the steam + MSM treatment has significantly higher net returns than the steam treatment. Cross-validated polynomial models outperform the sample mean for prediction of net returns, except for the steam + MSM treatment in conventional production. The optimal degree of the polynomial ranges from 1–4 degrees, depending on the production system and treatment. Results from two of three organic models suggest that maximum soil temperatures of 62–63 °C achieved for 41–44 min maximizes net returns and may be a basis for further experiments.
Highlights
Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) is an important crop for California, with a value of production of 2.34 billion USD in 2018, ranking sixth among all agricultural commodities [1,2].The value of organic strawberry production in 2016, the most recent year available, was 204.43 million USD, which was 6.5% of the value of California’s organic production that year [3]
Descriptive statistics are presented for the heat variables, yield, costs, and net returns
This study investigated whether the application of steam with or without mustard seed meal (MSM) is an economically sustainable pre-plant soil disinfestation technique for organic and conventional strawberry production in California’s Central Coast region
Summary
Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) is an important crop for California, with a value of production of 2.34 billion USD in 2018, ranking sixth among all agricultural commodities [1,2].The value of organic strawberry production in 2016, the most recent year available, was 204.43 million USD, which was 6.5% of the value of California’s organic production that year [3]. Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) is an important crop for California, with a value of production of 2.34 billion USD in 2018, ranking sixth among all agricultural commodities [1,2]. Efficacious pre-plant methods for managing soil-borne pests and diseases are an important priority for organic and conventional strawberry production systems alike. California strawberry production areas face significant challenges due to soil-borne diseases, Verticillium wilt, which is caused by Verticillium dahliae, Fusariam wilt, and charcoal rot [4,5,6]. The economic sustainability of organic and conventional strawberry production requires effective management of soil-borne pests, pathogens, and disease. Soil fumigants are chemical pesticides that are injected into the soil before transplanting a crop (pre-plant), with the goal to control soil-borne pathogens, pests, and weeds
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