Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) - Practical information

Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) is an alternative for chemical soil treatments (fig. 1). ASD reduces a wide range of soil borne diseases, pests and weeds. The method requires incorporation of easily de-gradable organic material into the soil, after which the soil is covered with an airtight plastic sheet to prevent the inflow of oxygen which creates an an-aerobic environment. All oxygen is used by soil mi-cro-organisms while degrading the organic material. For some organisms these anaerobic conditions alo-ne are already lethal. The organic material degrades further through fermentation, by which volatile fatty acids are being released that are lethal to many other species of soil organisms. Many useful species survi-ve both anaerobia and these volatile compounds, so there is no question of sterilization.