Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD): Practical Information (Best4Soil Factsheet)

Summary

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 the incorporation of easily degradable 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 anaerobic environment. All oxygen is used by soil microorganisms while degrading the organic material. For some organisms, these anaerobic conditions alone 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 survive both anaerobic and these volatile compounds, so there is no question of sterilization.
This Best4Soil factsheet provides step-by-step instruction on how to undertake this in your farm or garden.