Many of the materials used cause injury to the products in storage. Some chemicals give off undesirable odors. Most chemical are used as dilute solutions on fruits or vegetables. Other materials commonly used include borax, biphenyl, thiabendazole, capstan, and benzoic acid. Most of these material are used for the control of storage rots.
Treatment is done days, weeks or months before planting.
Some of the chemicals are so volatile that plastic or other coverings are used to hold the fumes in the soil longer. To prevent infection of stored product by pathogens, warehouses are cleaned of debris and treated with a copper sulfate or formaldehyde solution between crops. If fumigants are used, they should be allowed to perform for at least 24 hours before opening the building for aeration. It is the recommended practice for control of several insect-carried pathogens. In the case of virus or virus-like diseases, control has generally been successful when the insect vectors are controlled on plants on which they overwinter or feed, prior to entering the crop.