Crop damage from soil-borne nematode worms costs thousands of pounds for flower and vegetable growers to treat with conventional chemicals methyl bromide and metal sodium, two soil pesticides facing restriction or an outright ban.

It’s with this in mind that Dutch firm VDL has launched the Cultivit soil treatment device, “revolutionary” soil technology that it claims can achieve the same yield enhancement as traditional chemical treatments.

Developed by Israeli inventor Eli Paltin, the machine’s 35cm-diameter spader churns soil at 180rpm before exposing it to a fierce blast of 800-degree super-heated air from its diesel burner.

At 9t, it’s certainly no supermodel, but two rubber tracks help to limit soil compaction. Tests at Holland’s Wageningen University have shown Cultivit can, in heavily nematode-infested Mediterranean soils, achieve yield increases of up to 150%.

Benefit crops

Mr Paltin says his machine, which he has continued to refine since 1998, is suited to indoor and outdoor horticulture and will benefit growers of crops most at risk from nematode destruction such as tomatoes and soft fruit.

Cultivit is remote controlled and, through his Dutch collaborators VDL, Mr Paltin says a GPS-controlled model is in development.

Working now in Israel, Cyprus and the USA, the Cultivit is suitable for organic farming systems as an effective alternative to chemical treatment, and soils can be planted immediately.

Mr Paltin admits that despite the fearsome heat and deep soil disruption, the Cultivit cannot achieve the 100% kill of its chemical competitors. Nevertheless, he believes, this is more than offset by improved soil structure and the need to treat less frequently.

At €300,000 (£206,000) the Cultivit isn’t cheap, but could present an effective and less environmentally damaging answer to nematode damage in high-value crops.

Back to SIMA 2007 show report