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UC Santa Cruz researchers have begun testing hot-steam soil treatment at organic berry farms in the Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz County. The pilot is examining whether heat can help control soil pests, weeds and pathogens while reducing reliance on conventional pesticides or soil fumigants. It is an ongoing trial, not evidence that steam can already replace fumigation.
What the Pajaro Valley pilot is testing
The local report describes field trials at organic berry farms near schools and neighborhoods. The treatment applies steam to soil, using heat rather than a chemical fumigant. Lead engineer Ryan Benson summarized the method as: “So it’s just water. It’s treating the soil only by heat.”
For this project, the reported machine heats soil to about 70°C (158°F) and holds it at that temperature for approximately 20 minutes. Those are reported parameters for this pilot, not a universal treatment prescription. The report does not name participating farms or provide a complete schedule or detailed outcome protocol.
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Researchers are targeting soil pests, weeds and pathogens. They say the approach could help control soil-borne disease and potentially extend the growing season, but these are possible benefits under investigation—not confirmed results from the Pajaro Valley fields. The fields are to be monitored over time, and the report gives no long-term findings.
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Can steam replace fumigants on berry farms?
The pilot is testing that possibility; it has not established that steam is an effective or practical replacement. Farm advisor Mark Boulda described the work as exploratory: “Soil fumigation has been traditional since 1950. That’s worked very well. This is just a look over the fence to see if an alternative works.” His comment characterizes the pilot’s status rather than independently proving the history or comparative performance of fumigation.
Whether steam can serve as a workable alternative depends on results that have not been reported here. A useful evaluation would need to establish how well it controls target organisms, how crops respond, and whether treatment can be delivered consistently at the necessary depth and duration. Labor, energy and water needs, costs, and effects on nearby communities are also relevant comparison questions; the current report supplies no measurements on them.
What earlier California research adds—and what it does not
A 2022 peer-reviewed study evaluated prototype mobile steam applicators at two California strawberry nurseries. For the specified targets, including weeds and certain soil pests and pathogens, it reported efficacy similar to methyl bromide plus chloropicrin. The authors also cautioned that further research was needed to verify plant sanitation and quality. These were separate nursery trials, not results from the current Pajaro Valley pilot, and they do not resolve whether steam will work as a replacement at the farms now being studied. Read the 2022 HortScience study.
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Why the trial matters locally
Kathleen Kilpatrick, a member of the Santa Cruz County Safe Ag Safe Schools group, said: “The Pajaro Valley has some of the most concentrated use of fumigants in the state. We hope these pilot projects will provide tools for pesticide reduction and expansion of organic buffers.” The regional characterization and hoped-for benefits are hers; the local report does not provide an independent comparative statistic on fumigant use or evidence that the pilot has reduced pesticide use.
What is known so far
- Location and setting: Field trials are underway at organic berry farms in the Pajaro Valley, in areas described as near schools and neighborhoods.
- Reported treatment: Soil is heated to about 70°C (158°F) for approximately 20 minutes in this project.
- Purpose: Researchers are evaluating steam as a heat-based approach against soil pests, weeds and pathogens.
- Results: No long-term effectiveness findings from the current trial have been reported.
- Trial details: The local report does not identify participating farms or give the full schedule and outcome protocol.
The project details and quotations above are from KCRA / Hearst Television’s October 3, 2026 report.
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