Evaluation of Broadcast Steam Application with Mustard Seed Meal in Fruiting Strawberry

Soil disinfestation with steam has potential to partially replace fumigants such as methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and 1,3-dichloropropene because it is effective, safer to apply, and has less negative impact on the environment. Here, we compared the efficacy of steam and steam + mustard seed meal (MSM) to chloropicrin on soil disinfection, plant growth, and fruit yield in a strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) fruiting field. The MSM was applied at 3368 kg·ha−1 before the steam application. Steam was injected into a 3-m-wide reverse tiller that was set to till 30 to 40 cm deep. Soil temperatures at depths of 10, 20, 25, and 35 cm were monitored. Steam and steam + MSM treatments reduced the viability of purslane seeds and nutsedge tubers, microsclerotia density of Verticillium dahliae, propagule density of Pythium ultimum, cumulative weed densities, and biomass compared with the nontreated control. Moreover, the steam application was as efficacious as chloropicrin on these pests. The growth and fruit yield of strawberries grown on soils previously treated with the steam and steam + MSM treatments were similar to those in the chloropicrin treatment and were higher than those in the nontreated control. Our study indicated that steam, steam + MSM, and chloropicrin are equally effective at suppressing weeds and soilborne pathogens. These results suggest that the steam and steam + MSM treatment can be a practical alternative for soil disinfestation in conventional and organic strawberry fields

Incorporating Statistical Strategy into Image Analysis to Estimate Effects of Steam and Allyl Isocyanate on Weed Control

Weeds are the major limitation to efficient crop production, and effective weed management is necessary to prevent yield losses due to crop-weed competition. Assessments of the relative efficacy of weed control treatments by traditional counting methods is labor intensive and expensive. More efficient methods are needed for weed control assessments. There is extensive literature on advanced techniques of image analysis for weed recognition, identification, classification, and leaf area, but there is limited information on statistical methods for hypothesis testing when data are obtained by image analysis (RGB decimal code). A traditional multiple comparison test, such as the Dunnett-Tukey-Kramer (DTK) test, is not an optimal statistical strategy for the image analysis because it does not fully utilize information contained in RGB decimal code. In this article, a bootstrap method and a Poisson model are considered to incorporate RGB decimal codes and pixels for comparing multiple treatments on weed control. These statistical methods can also estimate interpretable parameters such as the relative proportion of weed coverage and weed densities. The simulation studies showed that the bootstrap method and the Poisson model are more powerful than the DTK test for a fixed significance level. Using these statistical methods, three soil disinfestation treatments, steam, allyl-isothiocyanate (AITC), and control, were compared. Steam was found to be significantly more effective than AITC, a difference which could not be detected by the DTK test. Our study demonstrates that an appropriate statistical method can leverage statistical power even with a simple RGB index

Evaluation of a Steam Application by a Mobile Applicator for Soil Disinfestation in Strawberry Nurseries

Soil disinfestation with steam has been evaluated in strawberry fruiting fields as a nonchemical method of soil disinfestation; however, little is known about the use of steam for field production of strawberry daughter plants. The objective of this study was to compare daughter plant production in soils previously treated with steam compared to those treated with standard methyl bromide (MB) and chloropicrin (Pic) treatments. A prototype field steam applicator and a self-propelled diesel-fueled steam generator and applicator were tested at two high-elevation nurseries near Macdoel, CA, in Sept. 2018 and Aug. 2020, respectively. The steam application heated the soil above 60 °C for ≈60 minutes to a depth of 25 cm at both nurseries. The pest control efficacy of the steam applications against weeds, Verticillium spp., Tylenchulus semipenetrans, and Pythium ultimum were similar to that of MB:Pic. The stolons and daughter plants densities in fields with steam treatment were similar to those in fields with MB:Pic treatment. Therefore, we suggest that soil disinfestation with steam may be a viable method of producing healthy strawberry plants. However, more research is needed to verify plant sanitation and quality

TIF film, substrates and nonfumigant soil disinfestation maintain fruit yields

A 5-year project to facilitate the adoption of strawberry production systems that do not use methyl bromide initially focused on fumigant alternatives and resulted in increased use of barrier films that reduce fumigant emissions. The focus shifted in year 3 to evaluating and demonstrating nonfumigant alternatives: soilless production, biofumigation, anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) and disinfestation with steam. In the 2010–2011 strawberry production season, fruit yields on substrates were comparable to fruit yields using conventional methods. Anaerobic soil disinfestation and steam disinfestation also resulted in fruit yields that were comparable to those produced using conventionally fumigated soils. Additional work is in progress to evaluate their efficacy in larger-scale production systems in different strawberry production districts in California

Evaluation of Broadcast Steam Application with Mustard Seed Meal in Fruiting Strawberry

Soil disinfestation with steam has potential to partially replace fumigants such as methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and 1,3-dichloropropene because it is effective, safer to apply, and has less negative impact on the environment. Here, we compared the efficacy of steam and steam + mustard seed meal (MSM) to chloropicrin on soil disinfection, plant growth, and fruit yield in a strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) fruiting field. The MSM was applied at 3368 kg·ha−1 before the steam application. Steam was injected into a 3-m-wide reverse tiller that was set to till 30 to 40 cm deep. Soil temperatures at depths of 10, 20, 25, and 35 cm were monitored. Steam and steam + MSM treatments reduced the viability of purslane seeds and nutsedge tubers, microsclerotia density of Verticillium dahliae, propagule density of Pythium ultimum, cumulative weed densities, and biomass compared with the nontreated control. Moreover, the steam application was as efficacious as chloropicrin on these pests. The growth and fruit yield of strawberries grown on soils previously treated with the steam and steam + MSM treatments were similar to those in the chloropicrin treatment and were higher than those in the nontreated control. Our study indicated that steam, steam + MSM, and chloropicrin are equally effective at suppressing weeds and soilborne pathogens. These results suggest that the steam and steam + MSM treatment can be a practical alternative for soil disinfestation in conventional and organic strawberry fields

A potential relationship between soil disinfestation efficacy and leaf green reflectance

Soil disinfestation with steam was evaluated as an alternative to fumigation. Following soil disinfestation, plant health has traditionally been measured using plant size and yield. Plant health can be measured in a timely manner more efficiently, more easily and non-destructively using image analysis. We hypothesized that plant health could be quantified and treatments can be differentiated using an RGB (Red, Green, Blue) image analysis program, particularly by observing the greenness of plant leaves. However, plant size or the proportion of green area could be unreliable due to plant loss and camera's position and angle. To this end, we decided to evaluate plant health by analyzing the RGB codes associated with the green color only, which detects the chlorophyll reflectance and nutrient status, noting that the degree of greenness within the green-leaf-area was not affected by the plant size. We identified five RGB codes that are commonly observed in the plant leaves and ordered them from dark green to light green. Among the five RGB codes, the relative percentage covered by the darkest green to the lightest green was significantly different between the steam and chloropicrin treatments and the control, and it was not significantly different between the steam and chloropicrin treatments. Furthermore, the result was correlated with the total yield, and the trend observed in the first year was replicated in the second year of this experiment. In this study, we demonstrate that the RGB image analysis can be used as an early marker of the treatment effect on the plant health and productivity

Incorporating statistical strategy into image analysis to estimate effects of steam and allyl isocyanate on weed control.

Weeds are the major limitation to efficient crop production, and effective weed management is necessary to prevent yield losses due to crop-weed competition. Assessments of the relative efficacy of weed control treatments by traditional counting methods is labor intensive and expensive. More efficient methods are needed for weed control assessments. There is extensive literature on advanced techniques of image analysis for weed recognition, identification, classification, and leaf area, but there is limited information on statistical methods for hypothesis testing when data are obtained by image analysis (RGB decimal code). A traditional multiple comparison test, such as the Dunnett-Tukey-Kramer (DTK) test, is not an optimal statistical strategy for the image analysis because it does not fully utilize information contained in RGB decimal code. In this article, a bootstrap method and a Poisson model are considered to incorporate RGB decimal codes and pixels for comparing multiple treatments on weed control. These statistical methods can also estimate interpretable parameters such as the relative proportion of weed coverage and weed densities. The simulation studies showed that the bootstrap method and the Poisson model are more powerful than the DTK test for a fixed significance level. Using these statistical methods, three soil disinfestation treatments, steam, allyl-isothiocyanate (AITC), and control, were compared. Steam was found to be significantly more effective than AITC, a difference which could not be detected by the DTK test. Our study demonstrates that an appropriate statistical method can leverage statistical power even with a simple RGB index