The soil on the farm suffers from fungal infections that severely damage chili plants in and around the fruiting set. In some seasons, fruit losses can be as high as 70%, and occasionally, the quality of fruit picked is only useful for processing.

To see if soil health could be improved, the owners decided to investigate soil fumigation. The ground was fumigated with Telone C-60 using a plastic-laying bed-forming fumigation rig. The fumigation period lasted two weeks and then the plastic rows were planted to chili seedlings in early September 2017.

By the second week of September, the fumigated bed seedlings were healthier and more advanced. The untreated seedlings were starting to show signs of fungal attack and ill thrift.

The above photos were taken in the second week of November 2017 and show the fumigated plants dying off and fruit number and quantity severely reduced. The fumigated plants are healthier and loaded with maturing fruit of uniform size.

As a foot note to this trial, in the last two months of 2017, Bundaberg received its annual rainfall in two storms that closely followed each other, with soils flooded to a depth of 20 centimeters in some areas.

To make matters worse, high temperatures at the same time allowed fungal diseases to multiply and spread very quickly. The fumigated ground was able to resist the spread of these fungal with minimal plant deaths or damage.

TriCal Australia's soil fumigation products allowed plants to set quicker and grow more vigorously while also being less susceptible to fungal diseases in the waterlogged soils.