Predicting Net Returns of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Following Soil Disinfestation with Steam or Steam Plus Additives

Abstract

Pre-plant methods for managing soil-borne pests and diseases are an important priority for many agricultural production systems. This study investigates whether the application of steam is an economically sustainable pre-plant soil disinfestation technique for organic and conventional strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) production in California’s Central Coast region. We analyze net returns from field trials using steam and steam + mustard seed meal (MSM) as pre-plant soil disinfestation treatments. ANOVA tests identify statistically significant differences in net revenues by treatment and trial. Multivariate regressions estimate the magnitude of these effects. Predictive polynomial models identify relationships between net returns and two treatment characteristics: maximum temperature (°C) and time at ≥60 °C (minutes). For organic production, net returns are statistically similar for the steam and steam + MSM treatments. For conventional production, the steam + MSM treatment has significantly higher net returns than the steam treatment. Cross-validated polynomial models outperform the sample mean for prediction of net returns, except for the steam + MSM treatment in conventional production. The optimal degree of the polynomial ranges from 1–4 degrees, depending on the production system and treatment. Results from two of three organic models suggest that maximum soil temperatures of 62–63 °C achieved for 41–44 min maximizes net returns and may be a basis for further experiments.

Band Steaming for Weed and Disease Control in Leafy Greens and Carrots

“…The increases in yields and corresponding increases in gross revenues for the lettuce trials in this research show the potential for steam to not only cover its costs, but to increase net revenues. A steam study done in strawberry production by Michuda et al (2021) suggested a maximum soil temperature of 62 to 63 C should be a standard for growers at a duration of 41 to 44 mins to maximize net returns and increase fruit yield. In our lettuce steam study, we surpassed that reaching temperatures above 70 C, which increased yield and gross revenue per acre.…”

Garlic (Allium sativum) feature-specific nutrient dosage based on using machine learning models

“…Data from 1,504 experimental wild blueberry data were collected for 11 years [ 38 ]. The size of other data sets to run ML models ranged from 60–240 to nearly 8,000 observations—smaller numbers correspond to more difficulties and higher costs with data gathering [ 32 , 42 – 50 ].…”

Organic Farming Lessens Reliance on Pesticides and Promotes Public Health by Lowering Dietary Risks

“…There is growing empirical evidence that organic farmers go beyond input substitution for pest management. Certified organic farmers that responded to a 2019 USDA survey reported reliance on many bio-based practices that are known to mitigate or eliminate the need for pesticide applications [105], as shown in Table 4. Maintaining buffer strips to provide habitat for beneficial organism, the use of animal manure to build soil health, and water management practices to prevent spikes in pest populations were three commonly deployed practices.…”

“…Six commodities and two systems aggregated the survey results: fruit and nut farmers and vegetable farmers. In addition, some IPM-relevant questions were included in the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture [105].…”

“…Notes: "NR" is not reported. Data on adoption of practices by organic farmers is from a 2019 USDA survey [105] encompassing 16,476 growers. Data on adoption on conventional farms is from the 2017 USDA surveys of production practices and the 2000 survey on IPM system tools and tactics [109,115].…”