Soil solarization: the idea, the research and its development

One effective method for the management of soilborne pathogens is soil disinfestation. The basic idea is to treat the soil by drastic means, before planting, in order to eliminate the pathogens surviving there, thereby ensuring the health of the subsequent crop. There are two basic approaches to soil disinfestation: chemical, using fumigants, and physical, by heating the soil (mainly by steam). These approaches were developed in 1870, in the early days of plant pathology, and the chemical approach has dominated ever since.