Abstract
Research aimed at finding alternatives to methyl bromide has tended to focus on strawberries, since this crop is the largest methyl bromide consumer in Spain, pre-plant soil fumigation with methyl bromide, or with mixtures of methyl bromide and chloropicrin, are standard practices for controlling soil-borne diseases. Methyl bromide, however, has been phased out due to its environmental risks except for critical use exemptions. Soil fumigants were evaluated as alternatives for methyl bromide soil fumigation at two high-elevation strawberry nurseries in Spain. Strawberry plants produced at high elevation nurseries were evaluated for fruit yield at two commercial fruit production sites. All fumigation treatments had higher stolon production than plants grown in non-fumigated soil. The results indicate that pre-plant soil treatment with chloropicrin alone or 1,3-dichloropropene plus 35% chloropicrin could be potential alternatives to methyl bromide for soil treatment at high-elevation strawberry nurseries in Spain.
Highlights
Spain is the world’s second-largest strawberry producer after the USA
Over 4 years, that compared nursery soils treated with methyl bromide (MB) and plus chloropicrin (Pic) mixtures to three alternative soil treatments —Pic, mixtures of Telone and Pic, and no fumigation— Larson and Shaw (2000) found stolon production at a high elevation nursery with MBPic was similar to that with Pic alone at application rates > 303 kg ha-1
The results indicated that combinations of TC35 or iodomethane with Pic showed promise as alternatives to methyl bromide in nursery production
Summary
Spain is the world’s second-largest strawberry producer after the USA. Huelva is Spain’s leading agricul-. Soil fumigation with MB plus chloropicrin (Pic) (MB:Pic, 50:50 w/w), at 40 g m–2, is a standard practice for the control of soil borne diseases, nematodes and weeds both in nurseries and (at 20 g m–2) in fruit production fields. Other studies evaluated the effect of soil treatment with fumigants that have been proposed as alternatives to MB on nursery stolon production and subsequent performance in production fields. Over 4 years, that compared nursery soils treated with MB and Pic mixtures to three alternative soil treatments —Pic, mixtures of Telone and Pic, and no fumigation— Larson and Shaw (2000) found stolon production at a high elevation nursery with MBPic was similar to that with Pic alone at application rates > 303 kg ha-1. The pest management results of this work, at high elevation nurseries have been published by De Cal et al (2004, 2005), and are not discussed here
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