Healthy soil is crucial for healthy crops. For farmers, healthy soil takes work. This is especially true for soil that is particularly susceptible to plant parasitic nematodes and certain soil-borne diseases.
The presence of many common organisms, parasites, and pests can mean the difference between a healthy yield or an off year. Soil fumigation can give plants the best chance possible to grow up and develop, while controlling pests safely and effectively—with lasting results.
What Is Soil Fumigation?
Soil fumigation is a pre-plant treatment process that prepares the soil ahead of planting by managing pests and other harmful organisms that could disrupt or prevent growth. This treatment involves the use of beneficial chemicals that transform from a liquid to a gas, traveling through the soil to manage various crop threats, including:
- Bacteria
- Insects
- Nematodes
- Fungi
- Weed seeds
- Tubers
- Other pests
Whether you’re working with new soil or rotating crops, soil fumigation is an important preparatory step to manage unwanted pests and pathogens. Without the threat of pest pressure, your plants have the best possible chance to grow.
How to Fumigate Soil
Here’s an overview of how the soil fumigation process works:
- Soil Preparation
- The soil is tilled and turned to properly aerate and mix it until a uniform texture is obtained. Depending on the crop to be planted, the land maybe shaped into peak-shaped beds several feet apart, or left flat.
- Soil Fumigant Application
- A plastic cover may be placed over the bed in some agricultural production scenarios. For others, the soil may not be covered. Soil fumigants are injected in liquid form into the base of each soil bed, which is then depressed into a flatter shape.
- Gas Dispersion
- Over a short time, the liquid fumigants volatize into a gas state and diffuse through the air spaces in the soil.
- Pathogen Control
- As the fumigant travels through the soil bed, it reduces harmful microbial pathogen populations. This improves the condition of the soil for planting as the crop plants encounter fewer pathogen organisms. Recent research indicates that the fumigant also shifts microbial populations with a greater percentage of plant-beneficial organisms that provide an improved soil environment for the developing plant roots.
- Fumigant Decomposition
- The soil fumigant solution decomposes into the soil, creating a stable soil bed ready for crop planting.
Different Types of Soil Fumigants
Soil fumigants vary in chemical composition and application method, but here are two of the most widely used:
- Chloropicrin – most commonly used to manage soil-borne diseases
- Brand name: Pic-Clor, Pic+, and others
- 1,3-dichloropropene – most commonly used to manage plant parasitic nematodes
- Brand names: TELONE™ II, TELONE™ EC
- 1,3-dichloropropene + chloropicrin combination mixtures – the combination of 1,3-D and chloropicrin are widely used to control both nematodes and diseases that occur simultaneously in crop fields.
- Brand names: TELONE™ C-35, TELONE™ C-15, INLINE™, STRIKE 80
Prior to fumigating your soil, it is important to have your soil tested so you know if you need to treat and which pests are at levels requiring management. Some products specifically target only nematodes (like TELONE™) while others are meant to manage soil-borne diseases like fusarium wilt or pink root (like Chloropicrin).
Studies summarized in the Phytobiomes Journal reveal that 1,3-dichloropropene (TELONE™) holds an advantage when farmers are trying to manage nematodes. 1,3-D treatments were far more effective than other solutions in managing harmful nematodes—while leaving healthy bacteria and beneficial microbes behind, creating a healthy environment for developing plants to grow.
4 Benefits of Soil Fumigation
Fumigation is an important part of a larger integrated pest management plan (IPM). If left untreated, many organisms and parasites harm crop development and yields.
Soil fumigation does more for your crops than just managing harmful, soil-borne organisms and plant parasitic nematodes. It:
- Reduces pests and pathogens
- Fumigants contain effective chemicals that reduce pest populations, in turn boosting the health of your soil.
- Improves plant growth and yield
- Because soil fumigants facilitate healthier soil, your plants have the best chance to thrive right from the start.
- Manages soil-borne diseases
- Fumigants stop diseases from creating unhealthy soil that would make otherwise healthy plants become sick and stunted.
- Improves the food economy
- Soil fumigation keeps food costs lower. Agricultural losses, including smaller yields, increase the overall costs of produce.
How Is Soil Fumigation Conducted?
The fumigation process requires specialized skills, equipment, and proficiency. Large-scale fumigation must be conducted by highly trained individuals with the knowledge to not only perform soil fumigation, but ensure its success. In some cases, the applicator is a professional that specializes in this type of work. There are also highly trained applicators that work on individual farms that expertly make the applications. When a professional application company is hired to make the fumigation, they may also include other services including identifying specific problems and creating a custom plan with the right products to target your specific problem.
Soil fumigation is a process with specific steps and considerations:
Pre-Fumigation Preparation of the Soil
Without the right soil texture, proper moisture levels, and correct temperature range, soil fumigation may be ineffective regardless of how powerful the treatment solution is. In order to work effectively, the soil must be properly aerated for the fumigant and free from clumps, compaction, rocks, branches, and other obstructions.
The timing of this preparation is also crucial for fumigation. If the soil is too dry, too wet, too hot, or too cold, the fumigant will not properly volatize and spread throughout the soil. Too hot or dry, and the fumigant will dissipate too quickly. Too cold or wet, and the fumigant may be inhibited from fully moving through the targeted soil treatment zone. You can reference the TELONE™ Application Guide to better understand the proper soil moisture and temperatures when applying TELONE™.
Application of Fumigants to the Soil
Fumigant application requires knowledge of the necessary depth, dosage, and sealing precautions to take before the process starts. Different pests and different soil types call for higher or lower doses, as well as a knowledge of the right exposure period to render the fumigants fully effective.
Because of this, fumigant applications may look different from one farm to the next.
However, the processes are generally the same. A tractor with mounted shanks or an apparatus for injecting the treatment through drip irrigation, applies the fumigant below the surface. The surface is then sealed off to keep the fumigant localized and prevent the solution from dispersing into the environment.
Industrial soil fumigation in areas where the soil will be sealed with a plastic tarp may be performed in one of two ways:
- In-Row or Strip fumigation: Each soil bed is sealed individually with protective plastic for the exposure period. This means only soil bands are treated rather than the entire field, so less fumigant is used.
- Broadcast or Full-Field fumigation: The entire field is sealed with protective plastic during fumigant exposure for a more comprehensive treatment of the area.
Before application, warning signs should be placed along all entrances and exits as well.
Post-Fumigation Procedures
The region should be monitored after application, with required warning signs still posted. It’s essential to keep the area sealed for the duration of the exposure process, both to maintain safety and ensure the treatment is fully effective. After the fumigants have decomposed, the field is ready for planting.
Safety Information
Safe and responsible soil fumigation techniques are imperative.
Safe fumigation is the result of careful planning and preparation, which includes:
- Locating all spouts, connectors, pipes, and other openings in the treatment area
- Knowing who are regular visitors—both authorized and unauthorized—to the area
- Wearing the right safety equipment and using proper gear
- Obtaining emergency numbers and shutoffs ahead of time
- Notifying nearby institutions and people of the upcoming fumigation
- Posting warning signs around the area and assigning supervision of entry points
- Applying fumigants according to the manufacturer’s instructions
- Aerating and ventilating properly after the application is complete
Conclusion
At Teleos Ag, we know how important soil health is for healthy crops. Fumigation can help. Investing in soil fumigation TELONE™ is one of the first steps you can take for healthy, long-lasting growth.
Contact us today to discover how TELONE™ can improve soil health, and give your crops the environment they need to flourish.
Disclaimer:
The resources and information provided are meant purely for educational discussion, contains only general information about legal matters, and is not to be construed as advice. Please note that any information or resources provided are not legal or regulatory advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information provided as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional services. Teleos Ag encourages readers to consult with counsel, and their local, county, and state regulators. We make no representations or warranties, express or implied, in relation to the information provided through our resources and blog posts. It is the readers responsibility to know the laws related to 1,3- D, appropriate PPE, Licensing, etc., in his or her City, County, State, and Country.
- TELONE™ Soil Fumigant: Application Flexibility Puts You In Control - November 5, 2024
- The 5 Most Common Plant-Parasitic Nematodes and How TELONE™ Can Help Protect Your Crops - November 4, 2024
- TELONE™ USA R&D – Sweetpotato Field Trials 2024 - February 29, 2024
