Hello everyone, myself, Scott Carlson (Worth County) and Justin Hand (Tift County) went to check fumigant gas levels in plastic beds to make sure gas levels were low enough to where a vegetable producer could plant tomatoes.
When using the MiniRAE gas/vapor detector, we are looking for gas levels to show less than 6 ppm (parts per million). This will make sure that gas levels have dissipated enough to where it would be safe to plant a crop without causing damage.
We have had a lot of wet weather and with this, it could be expected to see gas levels hang around longer. Producers are mainly using TIF (totally impermeable film) because it is more durable to where multiple crops could be planted, and it does a good job of increasing length of time of fumigant. TIF can hold fumigant up to 35 days in the Spring and is why it is important to get your beds checked for gas levels ahead of planting time to make sure it is safe.
Attached is the 2019 Vegetable Fumigant Systems for Plasticulture by UGA. It will provide details on fumigant combinations, plastic mulch differences, and herbicide programs.
https://gaweed.com/HomepageFiles/2019MBAlternatives%20-%20Final%20Feb%2015.pdf