Chemical compounds for soil sterilization are easy to use and need little time for application.
Modern compounds have a relatively low effect range, only one or a few specific diseases or pests are overridden. Furthermore the application of chemical agents always comes with a long period of rest which is necessary to degrade or flush them out.
In particular if chemical means for soil sterilization are not applied properly harmful residues might stay in the soil and concentrate in plants which have still unknown effects on plants and man.
Besides the risk of resistance formation can not be ruled out when applying chemical agents which can even aggravate the symptoms of a disease.
Due to the uncertainty of bad side effects chemical agents for soil sterilization should only be applied very carefully, in particular when it comes to vegetable foods.
