A new thesis from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) has confirmed the validity of biosolarization based on organic amendments as a sustainable and effective tool against pathogens that attack greenhouse-grown peppers, while also achieving increases of up to 46 percent in yields and improving water infiltration and retention.
The research of the new doctor, Pedro Fernández Molina, with tests carried out for four years in experimental greenhouses, has served to conclude that biosolarization with quality amendments and adapted doses is a technique capable of controlling edaphic pathogens without risks to the soil or to the environment, as reported by the institution in a statement.
Soil pathogens that compromise the viability and profitability of crops have proliferated in recent years, favoured by the monoculture of greenhouse peppers in the Region of Cartagena. They have traditionally been fought with chemical agents, including bromine, which is now banned.
"As a sustainable alternative, biosolarization has disinfectant effects and helps in the recovery and improvement of soil fertility, increasing the productive capacity of the greenhouses," explains the author of the thesis, who was overseen by Alfredo Lacasa Plasencio and Santiago Larregla del Palacio.
Source: Europa Press