Field experiments on soil solarization were 1996/97, 1997 and 1998/99 conducted in naturally weed-infested plots of onion, garlic and carrots in 96/1997, 97/1998 and 98/1999 seasons, at the Faculty of Agriculture Vegetable Farm, Ain Shams University. The well-prepared and moistened plots were covered with transparent polyethylene mulches for the duration of 6 weeks in August and September. Soil temperatures at 0,5 and 10 cm depths were recorded in solarized and non-solarized soil.
Soil solarization raised the average maximum soil temperature at 0,5 and 10 cm depths to 56.7, 49.3 and 45.3 °C respectively. An increase of 10.8, 9.8 and 7.6 °C over the non-solarized treatments respectively. Solarized plots gave the lowest number and weight of weed / m2. compared to the untreated plots. Solarization gave 100%, 91.5% and 54.1% weed reduction in onion and 100%, 91.1 and 35.9% weed reduction in carrot for annual brood-leaved weeds, annual grasses and perennial weeds respectively.
Solarization improved onion, garlic and carrots plant growth. Solarized treatments gave plant length, number of leaves per plant and fresh and dry weight of plant more than 20%, 21% 67% and 51% for onion, 7%, 10%, 44% and 63% for garlic and 22%, 18%, 90% and 80% for carrot of that of the control, respectively.
Yield of bulbs, average bulb weight and diameter were increased by 48.1%, 35.1% and 18.2% for onion and 38.3%, 15.1% and 11.6% for garlic, respectively by solarization over control. Also solarized plots resulted in an increase in the carrot root yield, average root weight and root shoulder diameter by 65%, 55% and 17% for early yield and by 49%, 31% and 10% for late yield, over the non-solarized treatments, respectively.
In the case of baby carrot, seed-bed solarization increased the production of marketable roots per unit area as compared with control. Solarization resulted in a 17% and 40.2% increase in total number and yield of marketable baby carrots at harvest respectively, with a 47.6% increase in yield of baby peeled carrots. The solarization methods has great advantage for production of higher yields of clean crops without herbicidal use where carrot and baby carrots are usually processed for babies and children foods and onion and garlic are exported vegetables.