Non-Chemical Soil Fumigation for Sustainable Strawberry Production in Southern Italy

In intensive strawberry production, monoculture is a common practice worldwide; however, prolonged replanting can cause plant disorders and jeopardize profitable cultivation of this highly valuable crop. To mitigate replanting problems, the strawberry industry is still highly dependent on chemical fumigation. Given the increasing regulatory restrictions and concerns about human and environmental risks from fumigants use, there is a growing interest in the adoption of effective, non-chemical alternatives. Two non-chemical soil fumigation practices, i.e., anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) and bio-fumigation with biocide plants (BIOFUM), were tested against chemical fumigation by chloropicrin + 1,3-dichloropropene mixture (STANDARD) and untreated (UNTREAT) control in a 2-year trial established in a commercial strawberry farm in Southern Italy (40 degrees 25' N, 16 degrees 42' E). Overall, the alternative practices provided consistently better results than UNTREAT; whereas, compared to STANDARD, their performance was significantly different in the two years: in 2018/19 season the alternative practices registered a 20% (ASD) and 39% (BIOFUM) marketable yield loss compared to STANDARD, while in the 2019/20 season yield differences were not significant. Although both practices appear promising as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fumigation, in this short-term trial ASD performed better than BIOFUM both in terms of yield and fruit size, resulting in a more advanced stage for practical adoption.