Permeability of plastic films to methyl bromide: Field study

Abraham Gamliel*, Avi Grinstein, L. Klein, Y. Cohen, Jaacov Katan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

The use of gas-impermeable films to minimize methyl bromide (MB) emission into the atmosphere from soil fumigation was studied in the field. Three experiments evaluated various plastic films during fumigation with a reduced dosage of MB. The concentration of MB decreased sharply in the soil during the first 24 h when polyethylene-based films were used. In contrast, films having a layer of barrier material, such as polyamide or ethylene vinyl alcohol, were significantly less permeable, shown by a gradual decrease in the MB concentration in the soil, a relatively higher concentration in deeper soil layers, and higher concentration (C) by exposure time (T) (C x T) values. A significant correlation was obtained between permeability values obtained in the laboratory and C x T values in the field. Fumigation under impermeable films at the reduced dosage of 20-25 g m-2 was effective in killing propagules of five pathogenic fungi to a depth of 40 cm. The significant correlation obtained between C x T values and the level of fungal killing suggests that using impermeable films reduces MB dosage and emission to the atmosphere while maintaining effective pest control.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)241-248
Number of pages8
JournalCrop Protection
Volume17
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1998

Keywords

  • Fusarium oxysporum
  • Impermeable film
  • Sclerotium rolfsii
  • Soil fumigation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Permeability of plastic films to methyl bromide: Field study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this