Soil Biosolarization: Using Waste & Sunshine to Get Rid of Weeds
Soil biosolarization.Copyright 2016 Jesús D. Fernandez Bayo, RESOURCE GK-12 Program, College of Engineering, University of California Davis
Over the course of three sessions, students act as agricultural engineers and learn about the sustainable pest control technique known as soil biosolarization in which organic waste is used to help eliminate pests during soil solarization instead of using toxic compounds like pesticides and fumigants. Student teams prepare seed starter pots using a source of microorganisms (soil or compost) and “organic waste” (such as oatmeal, a source of carbon for the microorganisms). They plant seeds (representing weed seeds) in the pots, add water and cover them with plastic wrap. At experiment end, students count the weed seedlings and assess the efficacy of the soil biosolarization technique in inactivating the weed seeds. An experiment-guiding handout and pre/post quizzes are provided.
Engineers apply science and math concepts to create products and processes designed for the betterment of humankind and the environment. Microbial engineers use microorganisms to transform waste into something useful. Waste management engineers are responsible for reducing landfill and incinerator waste as well as transforming the waste into something useful. Agricultural engineers create ways that farmers can make and use compost to help plants grow better, less expensively, and without harming farm workers or the environment. The principles of soil biosolarization span each of these engineering specialties as organic waste is transformed to increase crop production and protect crops from pests. In this activity, students act as agricultural engineers to test a soil biosolarization method of eliminating weeds from soil.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the importance of organic waste to composting.
- Explain the importance of sustainable pest control techniques.
- Conduct a scientific experiment to test the effectiveness of a soil biosolarization pest control method as a means of reducing human impact on the environment.
- Examine experimental results to assess how well the tested soil biosolarization system worked.