- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
UC researchers are considering the use of hot steam fumigation on coastal central California farms to prepare soil for planting strawberries and new orchards and vineyards. Farmers there have for years relied on methyl bromide, but the phase-out of the powerful soil fumigant is closing in, according to an article in The Packer.
To study the steam method, UC weed specialist Steve Fennimore outfitted a tractor with a boiler that heats steam to more than 300 degrees F. Ten-inch spikes inject steam into the ground.
The article,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Fresno Bee ran a story on the front page this morning reporting that a scientific panel recommended that the California State Department of Pesticide Regulation reject a request by Tokyo-based Arysta LifeScience Corp. to approve the use of methyl iodide for pest control on California farms and in structures.
The eight-member Scientific Review Committee, chaired by UCLA environmental health sciencies professor John Froines, includes UC San Francisco medicine professor Paul Blanc, UC Berkeley public health professor Katharine Hammond and UC Berkeley environmental health sciences professor Tom McKone.
Methyl iodide was...
