Metham sodium (MS) is a broad-spectrum fumigant used to control a variety of soil-borne pests and diseases, including nematodes, fungi, insects and weeds.

However, sole reliance on fumigants like MS often changes soil conditions and reduces inherent disease-suppressive properties in the soil, which reinforces a continued reliance on fumigants to deal with soilborne diseases, pests and weeds.

There are also a number of reasons why industry members should look for effective, commercially viable alternatives to using MS, including its environmental and human health impacts, increasing consumer preferences to avoid broad-spectrum pesticides, and trade restrictions.

While there is no direct ‘drop-in’ product that can replace MS, the team behind the Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection projects have developed an informative fact sheet that explores some of the alternative approaches that can work as part of a broader integrated crop protection approach.

You can access this fact sheet on the Soil Wealth website.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 10 April 2018. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!