Virginia Tech's Revolutionary Approach to Sustainable Strawberry Farming

Virginia Tech Researchers at the Hampton Roads AREC are working to revolutionize strawberry farming by finding sustainable approaches to disease control. 

In the world of strawberry farming, soil-borne pathogens have presented  a longstanding challenge. Historically chemical fumigation has been the go-to method for reducing harmful pathogens in the soil. 

In recent years, however, Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation (ASD) has emerged as a promising alternative. ASD and fumigation both seek to clean soil of pathogens and control soil-borne diseases. 

Soil is a bustling ecosystem of microbes, some of which thrive on oxygen, while others adapt to anaerobic (or oxygen-free) environments. ASD works by depleting the oxygen levels in the soil, producing toxic byproducts that kill soil-borne pathogens and give way to an anaerobic microbe population. 

Jayesh Samtani, a leading Virginia Tech researcher on sustainability says, “Our ecosystem has so much biological complexity that we have not even begun to unravel. My goal has always been to expand our tool box beyond synthetics.”  

Through Virginia Tech’s Hampton Roads AREC Samtani and his team are trialing the ASD process on its strawberry crops. According to Samtani, the process begins by applying a carbon source to the soil, then covering the bed with plastic to prevent the exchange of oxygen with the outside environment. Irrigation replaces the remaining air spaces with water to further encourage the anaerobic condition.

A secondary aspect of the research involves testing the application of endophytic bacillus species to help plants absorb nutrients, and further enhance disease resistance. 

As demand for fresh-market strawberries grows, innovative approaches like ASD, coupled with endophytic bacteria for disease management, present a beacon of hope for sustainable and effective disease control. Embracing these methods not only safeguards crop health, but contributes to overall agricultural sustainability.