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Has anyone ever use a product called Basamid to eliminate diseases and weeds form your soil?
Best wishes,
Martin

8/30/2003 5:05:09 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

Steve...aka "Tremor" uses it, probably sells it too.
He'll chime in here before long...

8/30/2003 5:36:47 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

PS....Martin,
Those Gelber Zentner pumpkins are funky looking...they won't cross with an AG, I tried.

8/30/2003 5:37:57 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Certified BASF Basamid specialist. LOL. That one kills me. I'm going to author a short paper for us in Word. Then I'll forward it to Ken & John. It might be more usefull to do that than to post it here in the forums.

Martin,
Ask specific questions here & I'll answer them if I can. The stuff works great. You do need to re-innoculate the soil later & take action to prevent the same causal agents that are troubling you now from returning. Cost per acre is around $1100.00US. Though since Basamid is made in Germany you may be able to cut a much better deal. I can't say.

Steve

8/30/2003 6:23:10 PM

Oz

where does basamid go after its done?
and what does it do down stream?
does it break down or does it attach?

8/30/2003 11:53:25 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

In the absence of a tarp or water cap, it volatilizes.

8/31/2003 12:25:16 AM

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your response.
I'm looking forward to reading the paper that you are going to write.
Just to make sure that we are talking about the same product: The active ingredient of Basamid is 970g Dazomet per kg, correct?
Here in Germany the cost is 130 Euros (120$US) per 20kg bag.
What amount of Basamid is necessary for a certain area?
What diseases can be successfully controlled with Basamid?
Mildew? Fusarium? root diseases? Weeds? Soil-born insects?
How deep do you have to till Basamid in so that it can work properly?
What is the best time to apply it? Fall or spring? How long do you have to wait until you can plant the treated area again?
Will it also kill all the beneficial insect and microbes that help in decomposting the organic material that we add to the soil?
Thanks,
Martin

8/31/2003 6:48:27 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Hey Martin,

Dazomet is correct 99%.

All roots of desireable vegetaion that enter the patch must first be severed by trenching (Ditch Witch, shovel, etc).

Erecting soil berms around the patch is advised to keep Basamid in the patch area & runoff water from adjacent areas out. Prevents movement of Basamid & reinfection from sorrounding area. Good to leave berms in place after treatment.

We're paying nearly $200US for 22KG. The difference would be shipping costs presumeably.
Application rates vary with the targetted organisms. Low for diseases, higher for weeds, highest for nematodes.
For nematodes, till debris & wait 3 weeks for decay prior to
treatemt. Then treat as usual.
Rate varys between 8-10 lbs. per 1000 sq ft. (3.6 - 4.5kg/1,000 sq ft - sorry, I don't do metric areas well! LOL) 8 lbs/1000 sq ft is nominal.

Basamid will kill every organism that is in active respiration at the time of treatment. So warm moist soils are required. Generally we can achieve our goals by applying as soon as we're done harvesting.
Pretill soil to 8". If infection is deeper than the 8" tillage depth, an additional 5-6.5 oz of product per 100 (one hundred) sq ft may be used per 4" of soil depth.

Level soil. Water to maintain moisture for
5-10 days. Moisture should be about 50% of field capacity. Soil temperature 54-64*F (12-18*C). Test before treatment to 4".

continued

8/31/2003 7:40:28 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Apply the product with a drop spreader. Till in to desired depth. Water to 1" without ponding or puddling. Start & stop as needed until finished (usually 4 waterings).

Now either tarp treated area to maintain gas in soil or maintain a regular watering program to keep gas in. Hold gas in for at least 72 hours but preferably 7 days without water logging soil.

Once finished either remove tarp or halt watering.

Re-till soil & wait 7 days. If you desire to replant after 7 days, do a test planting first to insure all residue has escaped. It should have.

If so, you're done.

Take all steps rquired to prevent new weed seed, or runoff contamination of newly cleaned site.

You may want to re-innoculated soil with beneficial soil bacteria such as ProMaxx or Bio-Gain. Mycorrizhae preperations may be added too.

This is not every little detail, but it gets the high points covered. I'll still do the Word doc when time permits completion.

Steve

8/31/2003 7:40:40 AM

Jackson Twp, Ohio

Steve,

Would there be any harm in leaving a "poly" cap on a basamid application all winter? However i'm not sure how long of an active (before decomposition) period the basamid would have.

Thanks,

Nick Hamilton

8/31/2003 10:24:50 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Hey Nick,

Yes there would be. Basamid is converted to MITC (methyl isothiocyanate) gas upon reaction with water. That gas is what does the work for us. The poly tarp would prevent the escape of MITC. As cold weather set in, the MITC gas would drive down deeper into the soil than we would want. Sounds good since we do want it to reach all areas. But since the low temperatures would place the causal pathogens we are targeting into dormancy, they won't be controlled. Then come spring the MITC might not properly release. Crop failure could result.

Tarping is the best way to seal the soil (more & better control than water alone), but tarps should be removed based on the schedule provided by BASF which is based on temperature. Depending on temperature, the tarp would stay on between 10 & 30 days.

Then the soil is aerated (usually by tilling with a sterilized (bleach) tiller this time :-D ) to release the gas.

If immediate use of the soil is desired, a test seeding is performed first to insure the full release of the MITC.

I'm nearly finished with the user guide. However I must get BASF's permission to publish it since I lifted some charts directly from them & they're probably copyright protected.

Steve

9/1/2003 8:48:45 AM