End of May 2011 the Service Center for Rural Areas (DLR) Rheinlandpfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) has continued its last years‘ successful test series at the research center “Queckbrunner Hof”.
In 2010 two steaming tests were already made to examine the killing effect of steam on weed seeds in particular in comparison to the use of herbicides. The results were impressive: In contrast to chemical means of weed control, steam showed a weed killing effect of 100%. Furthermore yield increased by up to 30%.
The DLR wants to find out which steaming times bring optimal results. The longer the steaming time the deeper the soil gets cleaned by steam and the hotter it becomes – however, the higher the costs. The shorter the steaming time the more economical hot steam can be used.
The results of this study will shortly be published in this blog.