We're going to start pushing growers in June. Convincing farmers to try something new takes effort. Molinar and Michael Yang produce newsletters, hold meetings and farm tours and broadcast a Hmong-language radio program twice a month. But it is the on-farm consultations, they say, that are most effective. The farmers have to do this themselves, unlike methyl bromide where they call in service.
Solarization saves money, but mistakes can be very costly.
To be successful, the plastic must be free of holes and carefully sealed along the edges. The soil must be moist and the plastic must be in place for a full 4 weeks. Hong Yang says his father knows methyl bromide can harm the environment. My father feels better knowing that he's helping. In 1999, Yang's lease expired on his high-traffic Clovis farm, forcing a move to a more remote parcel east of Fresno.