Acta Scientiarum Polonorum
Silvarum Colendarum Ratio et Industria Lignaria

Chemical plant protection products are used in forest nursery production to provide healthy seedlings. However, their long-term and incorrect use may lead to undesirable changes in soil microbiota. Moreover, methods such as crop rotation, biological control, fungicides, or breeding for disease resistance do not provide full control over all plant pathogens present in a given nursery. Solarization is a hydrothermal soil decontamination process involving passive solar heating. It occurs through a combination of physical, chemical and biological mechanisms and equals to chemical soil disinfestation. Acting on a properly prepared surface, solar radiation can significantly contribute to the reduction, or complete elimination of pathogens and pests, including bacteria, fungi and nematodes. Each new method of seedling protection in forest nurseries enriches the already very limited arsenal of pathogen control methods, and this work aims to familiarize readers with the process of soil solarization, strengths and limitations of this process, as well as its potential applicability in practice.