Efficacy of Chloropicrin Against Root Knot Nematodes on Protected Tomatoes in Italy

Spotti, C.; Nobile, E.; Piardi, M.; Vovlas, N.

doi:10.17660/actahortic.2011.914.48

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Chloropicrin possesses the property of rapid diffusion through agricultural soils and selective toxicity to soilborne pathogens, weeds and pests [ 8 – 10 ]. For its broad biocidal properties, chloropicrin is used today as a pre-plant soil fumigant primarily in high-valued horticultural crops such as strawberries [ 11 ], peppers [ 12 ] and vegetables [ 13 , 14 ]. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed a comprehensive and exhaustive eight-year review of chloropicrin and concluded that the chemical could continue to be used safely by farmers in US agriculture [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chloropicrin Emission Reduction by Soil Amendment with Biochar

et al. 2015

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Biochar has sorption capacity, and can be used to enhance the sequestration of volatile organic contaminants such as pesticides in soil. Chloropicrin (CP) is an important soil fumigant for the production of many fruit and vegetable crops, but its emissions must be minimized to reduce exposure risks and air pollution. The objective of this study was to determine the capacity of biochar to adsorb CP and the effect of biochar amendments to soil on CP emission, concentration in the soil gas phase, degradation in soil and CP bioactivity for controlling soil borne pests. CP emission and concentration in the soil air phase were measured from packed soil columns after fumigant injection at 20-cm depth and application of selected doses of biocharto the surface 5 cm soil. Laboratory incubation and fumigation experiments were conducted to determine the capacity of biochar to adsorb CP, the effects on CP degradation and, separately, CP’s bioactivity on soil borne pests in soil amended with biochar. Biochar amendment at 2% to 5% (w/w) greatly reduced total CP emission losses by 85.7% - 97.7% compared to fumigation without biochar. CP concentrations in the soil gas-phase, especially in the top 5 cm of soil, were reduced within 48 h following application. The half-life of CP decreased from 13.6 h to 6.4 h as the biochar rate increased from 0% to 5%. CP and its metabolite (dichloronitromethane) both degraded more rapidly in pure biochar than in soil. The biochar used in the present study had a maximum adsorption capacity for CP of less than 5 mg g-1. There were no negative effects on pathogen and nematode control when the biochar used in this study was less than 1% (on a weight basis) in soil. Biochar amendment to soil reduced the emissions of CP. CP concentrations in the top 5 cm of soil gas-phase were reduced. CP degradation was accelerated with the addition of biochar. The biochar used in the present study had a low adsorption capacity for CP. There were no negative effects on pathogen and nematode control when the biochar amendment rate was less than 1% (by weight). The findings would be useful for establishing guidelines for biochar use in soil fumigation.

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