SOIL FUMIGATION STRAWBERRY FIELDSELECTRONIC SOIL FUMIGATION
MONTREAL PROTOCOL
The Montreal Protocol is ending the use of methyl bromide for soil fumigation and some applications for post harvest fumigation of fruits and vegetables.
AgSCAN has studied this issue and found that to date no suitable, single fumigant has been made available to replace methyl bromide. Some researchers believe that a "cocktail" fumigant, mixture of several more specific chemicals, would have to be used in place of methyl bromide (MB).
It is firmly believed that X-radiation will be more than a suitable replacement for methyl bromide in most applications.
X-RADIATION IS NON- POLLUTING
Methyl bromide is a toxic substance. It is controlled at the state level under unified toxic substance regulations that include agricultural pesticides. Even at its best, MB pollutes the environment around which it is applied, such as preplanting fumigation of strawberry planting beds. Each season these plant beds need to be fumigated with MB to kill nematodes, insects and fungi. Methyl bromide is not a top notch antifungal agent, but X-radiation can kill most fungi appearing in agriculture, and without polluting the local environment.
X-RADIATION R&D FOR SOIL REMEDIATION
AgSCAN has a program planned for developing X-radiation for soil remediation, one that clearly sees the commercialization of this process for the agriculture industry.
AgSCAN plans to integrate other agricultural technologies into its development program; plasticulture and fertigation. Plasticulture is the use of plastic films in agriculture that help achieve numerous effects in a protective environment, such as mulching. Fertigation is the combining of liquid fertilizer with drip irrigation as an economic means for providing nutrients to growing crops. From previous experiments, AgSCAN has treated soils to improve growth of grasses and plants. The company had sterilized soil for a leading university biology department which was utilized for demonstrating that sand dune growth along the California coast could be reversed through providing soil free of organisms that retard growth. Some of that experience will be applied to the development of machinery and processes that provide for large scale application in agriculture, proving that X-radiation will be a superior replacement for methyl bromide.
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2006 AgSCAN Inc.
