A solar collector for soil disinfestation.

A solar collector to be used for disinfestation of substrates for plant propagation is described. At a high solar radiation intensity, one day of treatment was sufficient for disinfestation of soil infested with Sclerotium rolfsii, Sclerotiorum, Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli or Phytium aphanidermatum. Treatment of soil in the solar collector strongly reduced the total numbers of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes. Nutrient status of the soil was only slightly changed and did not result in effect on plant growth