The effect of soil solarization on the control of soil borne pathogens of
tomato plants in the reclaimed sandy regions of Nubaria, EI-Beheira Governorate,
Egypt was studied. Solar heating gradually reduced the isolated fungi to very low
levels, comparable with non-wrapped treatments. Populations of Aspergillus spp.,
Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., and Rhizoctonia so/ani were found to be reduced at
the end of the solarization treatment (3 months). Tomato plants stand were observed
in solarized plots indicating the positive effect of soil heating on reducing numbers of
propagules of soil-borne pathogens. Thus, it could be concluded that soil-borne
pathogens infest tomato plants can be controlled by planting the crop in solarized
fields. These promising results indicate the possibility of using this method to control
soil-borne diseases in the reclaimed sandy regions of Nubaria, EI-Beheira
Governorate, Egypt.