How Soil Steaming Affects Tomato Growth

Authors: Korey Evarts, Andrew Gascho-Landis

SUNY Campus: SUNY Cobleskill

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 43

Timeslot: Session C 1:45-2:45 PM

Abstract: Soil steaming is an agriculture technique that was developed prior to modern pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. It was used to control weeds and produce higher yield and is now having a resurgence because of interest in natural and organic food production; however, much is unknown about this technique. The objective of this study is to determine if soil steaming has a significant effect on weed suppression, and tomato plant growth and yield. A Sioux SF-11 steamer was used to heat the soil up to 160-165°F for 2.5 hrs. Once cooled the soil was then distributed into ten pots and tomato seeds were planted. Treatment pots were randomly arranged in a high tunnel with control pots that had been planted with tomato seeds but had not been steamed. We found that the steamed soil had little to no weed emergence throughout the growing season, whereas the control soil had weeds emerging in the first week. The plants that grew in the steamed soil grew at a much faster rate whereas the control group struggled to grow. The tomato plants in steamed soil also produced larger uniform tomatoes than the control soil. Nitrate and pH were also measured in this study and there was a noticeable increase in steamed soil, but it was not a statistical difference. Our study highlights the fact that soil steaming is an effective way to organically protect crops against weeds. Steaming is a time intensive process but is cost effective compared to using modern herbicides.