Northern sugarcane response to soil solarisation

Soil solarisation in the process of raising soil temperature by the use of clear plastic sheeting. As reported by Reghenzani (1984), solarisation has been used to control soil-borne plant pathogens in a number of crops. This paper reports on the beneficial effects of solarisation on sugarcane yields in North Queensland, and on its effects on the pathogens responsible for Poor Root Syndrome (PRS), and unidentified oomycete commonly called the root rot fungus (RRF) and Pythium spp.