Weeds are a major factor limiting yield in organic vegetable and other horticultural crop systems, and the lack of effective biological weed-management solutions is a significant obstacle to the adoption of organic farming practices. To address this problem, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a four-year, $1 million grant to a team led by plant scientists and an economist from Penn State to investigate anaerobic soil disinfestation, a microbial-driven process to manage weeds, to support transitioning from conventional to organic production systems.

“Anaerobic soil disinfestation — often referred to ASD — is emerging as a broad-spectrum biological soil treatment for the management of soilborne pests and pathogens, including weeds,” said research team leader Francesco Di Gioia, associate professor of vegetable crop science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “It is an ecological alternative to chemical soil fumigation. The method consists of incorporating easily decomposable organic amendments into the soil, followed by irrigation to saturation and soil cover with impermeable plastic.”

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