Commercial growers who have experience propagating tomato seedlings know that the success of a crop begins with the environment you put the seedling into.

Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) was first identified in 2015. It is a deadly disease, causing brown, rough patches on tomatoes and peppers (Capsicum annuum), uneven ripening, yellow or mosaic patterns on leaves, reduced crop quality and reduced production. The virus renders infected crops unsellable and causes devastating economic losses for growers.

Faced with this critical threat, CleanSteama offers growers a highly effective, low-cost steam heat-treatment solution designed to help protect seedlings from ToBRFV and safeguard crop quality, yield and profitability. Read on to discover how.

Tomato plant infected by the Brown Rugose Fruit Virus.

Brown Rugose Virus is extremely persistent and transmissible between trays, equipment and greenhouses. Once established, growers face crop losses, disposal and decontamination costs, production disruption, movement restrictions and the requirement to complete a subsequent host-crop cycle without detection before eradication can be declared. Prevention is therefore preferable because it converts an open-ended outbreak into controlled biosecurity.

In terms of prevention methods, ToBRFV has a tough protein coat (capsid) which makes it resilient to most washing and chemical solutions. The only proven approach to denaturing it is through high temperature, steam sterilisation with most propagation trays able to withstand the required 95°C steam for a minimum of 5 minutes, sufficient to kill pathogens and diseases.

Numerous growers have already approached Stronga, leaders in steam sterilisation, having dealt with the catastrophic crop loss associated with transmitted disease and pests; such as ToBRFV, Fusarium wilt, crown and root diseases, Pythium root rot, Phytophthora blight, rapid wilting and fungal growth.

That’s where CleanSteama comes in…

CleanSteama offers a low cost, energy efficient solution for growers, providing an insurance policy; very low seedling mortality, healthier seedlings, increased uniformity, reduced remedial labour… the foundations for process consistency.

The CleanSteama CS200 model is a plug-and-play in-vessel solution, using 200°C super-heated steam to provide a simple, chemical-free approach to hygenisation, sterilising propagation trays and growing substrates before their next growing cycle; reducing the risk of catastrophic crop loss.

Unlike harmful, chemical spraying or high pressure, tray washing, CleanSteama delivers reliable and controlled, sustained time at temperature steam treatment, that permeates the entire tray surface, including every cell, corner and recess. Once the vessel has filled with steam, the SteamBoila automatically modulates down in a process which is highly efficient in terms of energy use.

The process is detailed in the graphic below.

CleanSteama’s high-volume, batch-processing approach minimises handling and turnaround times, enabling large quantities of trays to be processed and returned to production. Designed to maximise logistical efficiency, each steam vessel can accommodate up to 24 pallets of trays; while the overall system can be scaled to your processing requirements.

Beyond tray steam treatment, the CleanSteama helps to further contribute to a waste-free initiative. The equipment can also be used to heat treat mesh-bagged growing substrates (coir/peat alternatives/ growing blends etc.) at 95°C for 15 minutes time-at-temperature. This provides further protection against devastating crop loss, whilst reducing the input costs associated with purchasing virgin substrate for each growing cycle.

Steam-sterilised substrates and propagation trays yield healthy tomato crops.

CleanSteama isn’t just for tomatoes or peppers. It’s a practical solution for any commercial grower working with trays, pots or growing media, useful across the entire growing operation, year after year. The equipment is simple to use and highly reliable with efficient logging and temperature controls.

CleanSteama equipment pays for itself in an extremely short period, bringing sterilisation in-house while reducing the ongoing costs associated with losses, replacement media and failed alternative treatments. Order your insurance policy; contact our friendly team today: enquiries@stronga.com