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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306604
Title: Improving fumigant efficiency by deep application and totally impermeable film covering raised-beds for strawberry production

Author
item QIN, RUIJUN - University Of California
item DAUGOVISH, OLEG - University Of California Agriculture And Natural Resources (UCANR)
item Gao, Suduan
item HANSON, BRADLEY - University Of California
item Gerik, James
item AJWA, HUSEIN - University Of California

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/28/2014
Publication Date: 11/2/2014
Citation: Qin, R., Daugovish, O., Gao, S., Hanson, B., Gerik, J.S., Ajwa, H. 2014. Improving fumigant efficiency by deep application and totally impermeable film covering raised-beds for strawberry production. Meeting Abstract. Abstract CD #94-3.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The coastal California (CA) is the primary productive strawberry region where strawberry is mainly grown in raised-beds covered by polyethylene (PE). Over 55% of raised-bed production systems have fumigants applied directly through irrigation drip-tapes, which are buried near soil surface for soil-borne pest control. However, the current drip fumigation method needs to be optimized to cope with the high fumigant emission loss, which results in air quality issue and insufficient pest control. In August 2013, a field trial was conducted in a sandy loam soil in Camarillo, CA to evaluate the distribution, emission, and fate of the fumigants in Pic-Clor 60 EC (a mixture of 56.7% chloropicrin, 37.1% 1,3-dichloropropene, and 6.2% inert ingredients) as affected by application depth, fumigant rate, and film type. Result showed that total impermeable film (TIF) reduced fumigant emission effectively with further reduction by a deeper application. The deep application also improved fumigant distribution in soil profile compared to the shallow application. Fumigant concentration under TIF with half-rate was similar to or even higher than that under PE with full rate, suggesting that using TIF may help grower to reduce fumigant input but still achieve comparable pest control results to the conventional applications. The overall results indicate that the combination of TIF covering and deep application possibly leads to using less fumigant to achieve good pest control, while more trials are needed for optimizing the technology for its adoption in production fields.