创新背景

农民花费大量的时间和金钱来控制杂草和其他害虫，经常不得不使用化学熏蒸剂来阻止最具破坏性的害虫。农民们还在努力处理农作物生产的低价值副产品，比如水果、蔬菜和坚果加工过程中产生的皮、种子和外壳。

创新过程

许多后院园丁都知道日光的威力。当你在潮湿的土壤上铺上一块透明的塑料防水布时，你可以吸收太阳辐射并加热土壤，从而杀死杂草和其他通过土壤传播的害虫。这种方法很有效，但可能需要四到六周的时间，这对商业土地来说往往太长了。

生物日晒可以加速和改善这一过程。西蒙斯和他的团队正在向土壤中添加有机改良剂，如葡萄皮、番茄皮或磨碎的坚果皮，然后再铺上防水布，这样可以促进有益细菌的生长。有益的微生物与害虫竞争，暂时使土壤更酸，因此不适合杂草和其他害虫。同时，土壤加热和微生物活动可以将处理时间缩短到几天，而不是几周。

化学熏蒸剂是昂贵的，许多已被州和联邦监管机构认定为致癌物质。但在杀死土壤害虫时，它们是非常有效的。熏蒸剂在很大程度上是一种生物杀灭剂，这意味着它们会影响有害微生物和有益微生物。而生物日晒使更多无害和有益的微生物在土壤中持续存在。

但是对于农民采用生物日晒作为化学熏蒸的替代方法，这种处理必须是有效的、可预测的和经济的。因此，该团队正在全州不同地区进行商业化规模的生物日晒试验，对各种作物、改良作物和土壤进行生物日晒试验，以对抗不同的害虫。

研究人员已经对生菜、西红柿、甜瓜和各种覆盖作物进行了实地试验。他们在奇科的一个传统果园进行了一项10英亩的长期试验。

在奇科，西蒙斯和他的团队正在与尼可劳斯坚果公司的杏仁种植者罗里·克劳利合作，得到了加州杏仁委员会和西部农业健康与安全中心的资金支持。他们进行了为期25年的试验，看看杏仁加工残留物和阳光是否能促进土壤健康，减少杂草和其他土壤害虫。使用生物日晒和芥菜覆盖作物，将有机质增加了1.25%到1.75%，这是一个巨大的飞跃。这对碳吸收和土壤的整体健康都有好处。

西蒙斯和他的团队正在加州大学戴维斯分校用番茄和葡萄酒加工过程中产生的农业废物流对几处一年生作物进行生物日晒试验。很快，他们将开始对草莓进行试验，草莓通常在每个季节农民重新种植浆果时都要用熏蒸剂处理。西蒙斯希望向农民证明，生物日晒可以在各种条件下有效和经济地对付各种害虫。

创新价值

通过激活土壤中的有益微生物，生物日晒有可能在长期内改善土壤健康。生物日晒可以成为一种很好的害虫管理工具，并对农业废弃物进行有价值的利用。

创新关键点

研究人员向土壤中添加有机改良剂，如葡萄皮、番茄皮或磨碎的坚果皮，然后再铺上防水布，这样可以促进有益细菌的生长。

Use sunlight and agricultural waste to control pests

Many backyard gardeners know the power of daylight. When you lay a clear plastic tarp over wet soil, you can absorb solar radiation and heat the soil, thereby killing weeds and other soil-borne pests. This works well, but it can take four to six weeks, which is often too long for commercial land.
Biological insolation can speed up and improve this process. Simons and his team are adding organic amendments, such as grape skins, tomato skins or grated nut peel, to the soil and then covering it with a tarp, which encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria. Beneficial microorganisms compete with pests, temporarily making the soil more acidic and therefore less suitable for weeds and other pests. At the same time, soil heating and microbial activity can reduce the treatment time to days instead of weeks.
Chemical fumigants are expensive, and many have been identified as carcinogens by state and federal regulators. But they are very effective when it comes to killing soil pests. Fumigants are, for the most part, biocides, which means they affect both harmful and beneficial microbes. And biological insolation allows more harmless and beneficial microbes to persist in the soil.
But for farmers to use biological insolation as an alternative to chemical fumigation, the treatment must be effective, predictable and economical. So the team is conducting commercial-scale biological sunning trials in different parts of the state, on a variety of crops, improved crops and soils to combat different pests.
The researchers have conducted field trials with lettuce, tomatoes, melons and a variety of cover crops. They conducted a long-term 10-acre experiment in a heritage orchard in Chico.
In Chico, Simmons and his team are working with Nicolos Nuts almond grower Rory Crowley, with financial support from the Almond Board of California and the Western Agricultural Health and Safety Center. They conducted a 25-year experiment to see if almond processing residues and sunlight could promote soil health and reduce weeds and other soil pests.
Using biological insolation and mustard cover crops increased organic matter by 1.25% to 1.75%, which is a huge leap. This is good for carbon sequestration and the overall health of the soil.
Simons and his team at the University of California, Davis, are using agricultural waste streams from tomato and wine processing to experiment with biological sunning of several annual crops. Soon, they will begin experimenting with strawberries, which are usually treated with fumigants each season when farmers replant berries. Simons hopes to prove to farmers that biological insolation can be effective and cost-effective against a variety of pests under a variety of conditions.