LESSON 2: SOIL TREATMENT

Since most of the diseases are soil borne, it is very important to treat nursery soil for producing healthy disease free
seedlings. In most cases, soil contains such harmful pathogens, which interfere with growth and development of the
seedlings. These harmful pathogens can be eliminated by soil-pasteurization or by changing the site of nursery or by
treating it (soil) with certain chemicals. However, soil pasteurization is not desirable and possible because it is highly
difficult and cumbersome job. Moreover, it may also kill several useful soil micro-organisms. Usually, pasteurization is
done at 60°C for 30 minutes to kill harmful organisms in the soil and soil mixes. Propagators should use steam
pasteurization because it kills harmful pathogens and not the beneficial ones, though, it requires expensive instruments,
and which is sometimes beyond the reach of a common man. In addition to pasteurization, certain chemicals can also be
used for killing the pathogens. Commonly used chemicals are formaldehyde, methyl bromide, chloropicrin, vaporn etc.

2.3.1 Soil Treatment by Chemicals

Soil sterilization is usually done by chemicals like methyl bromide, sodium methyl and formaldehyde. Methyl bromide,
and sodium methyl are banned by law in our country which cannot be used. We have therefore, only one option that is
formaldehyde which can be used for the sterilization of the soil. Generally formaldehyde of 37 % strength is available in
the market which can be used for soil sterilization purposes.
 Prepare the appropriate size of nursery beds which we want to sterilize by formaldehyde.
 Take pieces of transparent plastic of 15-20 micron thickness for covering the area one litre. Formaldehyde (37 %
concentration) is added in 19-20 litres of water and 5 litres of this solution is sufficient to treat one sq. metre area of soil.
 Cover the drenched soil with the black plastic for two weeks.
 Remove the plastic cover and rake the beds every day for two weeks to remove the traces of formalin gas.

2.3.2 Soil Solarization by Plastic Sheet

Soil solarization by transparent plastic sheet is done during summer months (15 April - June); the soil is covered with
plastic sheet, (the thickness of plastic may vary from 10-20 or 30 micron) keep the plastic for 3-4 weeks on the beds. Basic
objective is to increase the soil temperature to kill the soil borne pathogens and nematodes. The temperature of the soil
(to a depth of around 10-15 cm) is increased around 5-8°C above the ambient temperature, and this is helpful in killing
the harmful pathogens (fungus, bacteria, nematodes etc.) present in the soil.

2.4.1 SEED TREATMENT

The seeds may carry inoculum of many diseases. If infected seeds are sown, they may not germinate properly and if
germinate, the growth of the seedlings may be lanky and such seedlings may even die soon. Thus, seeds should be
treated properly to kill the source of inoculum.

2.4.1 Disinfestations
It is the process of eliminating organisms from the seed surface. Many chemicals
are used to disinfect seeds before sowing to avoid the incidence of diseases in
the seedbeds. Ethyl alcohol, calcium hypochlorite and mercuric chloride are most
commonly used disinfestation. The concentration and the duration of treatment
chiefly depend on the size and kind of the seeds. The duration of treatment varies
from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the size and type of the seed. However,
prolonged exposure of the seeds to disinfestants may be avoided as it may injure
the embryo thereby affecting germination. After treating the seeds with chemicals,
these are rinsed with tap water and immediately sown in the nursery.
2.4.2 Disinfectations
It is the process of treating seeds in a way so as to eliminate seed borne pathogens
i.e. the pathogens, which are present within the seeds. For disinfection, hot water
treatment is most effective. The seeds can also be treated with formaldehyde and
mercuric chloride for this purpose. Now-a-days, aerated steam is being used
commercially. Hot water treatment is very effective to eliminate pathogens from
within the seeds, which otherwise normally looks healthy. In this treatment, dry
seeds are kept in hot water (48 to 55°C) for 10-30 minutes, depending upon the
kind of seeds and the pathogen. During the process of treatment, the water should
be stirred continuously. Similarly, there should be precise control on temperature
and duration of treatment, otherwise, it may result in many indirect effects on
the seeds. To protect the seeds from the infection of pathogens, these should be
treated with different chemicals. Dry seed treatment method gives better protection
against soil borne diseases, whereas, wet method gives protection both from soil
and seed borne pathogens. In dry seed treatment method, the seeds are thoroughly
shaken with chemicals in a rotating seed duster for some time so that the chemical
sticks well to the seed surface. The most commonly used chemicals for this
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treatment are Agrosan-GN, Ceresin, Brassicol, Captan, Thiram and Dithane-M45.
2.4.3 Seed Treatment with Bio-agents
As the world is shifting towards organic production, it becomes very important
to minimize the use of chemicals at nursery stage, as some bio-agents such as:
Trichoderma spp. (a fungus which helps in controlling other soil born fungus)
can be used to treat the seeds. The seeds can be coated with the Trichodermaspp. before sowing to grow the healthy
seedlings in the nursery.

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