Research Update. 2005. In: The Cultivar, 23, (1), 9-11, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA PDF
Abstract: One promising technique for controlling a number of plant pathogens across a range of crops comes from the Netherlands and Japan. The technique involves growing and incorporating a cover crop, watering the area, and then sealing it with an oxygen-impermeable tarp to create anaerobic conditions that kill the fungal pathogens. Japanese use wheat bran in place of a cover crop for a carbon source.
Link: http://www.panna.org/campaigns/docsFumAlts/Brown_2005.pdf
Blok, W. J., Lamers, J. G., Termorshuizen, A. J., and Bollen, G. J. 2000. Control of soilborne plant pathogens by incorporating fresh organic amendments followed by tarping. Phytopathology. 90 (3):253-259.PDF
Abstract: A new method for the control of soilborne plant pathogens was tested for its efficacy in two field experiments during two years. Plots were amended with fresh broccoli or grass (3.4 to 4.0 kg fresh weight m–2) or left nonamended, and covered with an airtight plastic cover (0.135 mm thick) or left noncovered. In plots amended with broccoli or grass and covered with plastic sheeting, anaerobic and strongly reducing soil conditions developed quickly, as indicated by rapid depletion of oxygen and a decrease in redox potential values to as low as –200 mV. After 15 weeks, survival of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. asparagi, Rhizoctonia solani, and Verticillium dahliae in inoculum samples buried 15 cm deep was strongly reduced in amended, covered plots in both experiments. The pathogens were not or hardly inactivated in amended, noncovered soil or nonamended, covered soil. The latter indicates that thermal inactivation due to increased soil temperatures under the plastic cover was not involved in pathogen inactivation. The results show the potential for this approach to control various soilborne pathogens and that it may serve as an alternative to chemical soil disinfestation for high-value crops under conditions where other alternatives, such as solarization or soil flooding, are not effective or not feasible.
Link: http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PHYTO.2000.90.3.253
Goud, J. K. C., Termorshuizen, A. J., Blok, W. J., and van Bruggen, A. H. C. 2004. Long-term effect of biological soil disinfestation on Verticillium wilts. Plant Dis. 88 (7):688-694.PDF
Abstract: Biological soil disinfestation (BSD), involving incorporation of grass combined with plastic mulching, eliminates many soilborne pests and diseases through the creation of anaerobic conditions. BSD was compared at two locations with a nontreated control, Italian ryegrass amendment alone, and plastic mulch alone. After the soil treatments, plots were cropped with Acer platanoides and Catalpa bignonioides and grown for 4 years. Relative to the control, soil inoculum levels of Verticillium dahliae were reduced by 85% after BSD and did not increase for 4 years. Populations of Pratylenchus fallax, known for their interaction with V. dahliae, in the soil and in roots were reduced by 95 to 99%. The incidence of infection by V. dahliae was reduced by 80 to 90%. Verticillium wilt severity was significantly reduced in A. platanoides in all 4 years at one location and in the first 2 years at the other location, and significantly fewer plants died at one location. Shoot length and trunk width were larger after BSD compared with the control at one location. Market value of the crop in BSD plots was up to € 140,000 ha-1 higher for A. platanoides and up to € 190,000 ha-1 higher for C. bignonioides than in the untreated control. BSD is an effective, economically profitable, and environmentally friendly control method for tree nurseries.
Link: http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1094/PDIS.2004.88.7.688