Struggle of telluric pathogens. Economic evaluations

The fumigation of soil and substrates with chemicals (fumigants) is the most widespread practice for the containment of telluric pathogens in intensive cultivation systems. Among the fight strategies against soil pathogens with a lower environmental impact, the technique of combined soil solarization raises an increasing interest. The application of this technique mainly relies on the use of innovative plastic films. The combined use of soil solarization and fumigation could improve the effectiveness of the treatment enabling a reduction of the fumigant dosages. With reduced pollution of soil and groundwater, and with reduced chemical risk on workersâ health. This paper reports the preliminary results of a survey on the economic assessment of the new technique of soil solarization.