Tainan Agricultural Research Station Develops Self-Propelled Steam Sterilizer to Improve Soil Management
The Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station has successfully developed a self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine to enhance soil management for crops grown in greenhouses and nets. This innovation effectively reduces soil-borne diseases and the need for chemical agents by using high-temperature steam, promoting sustainable agriculture. The machine is electric-powered, remotely controllable, and requires minimal labor, proving beneficial in trials for crop growth and soil health.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 16, 2026 at 11:41
- 🔍 Collected: April 16, 2026 at 12:01 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 16, 2026 at 12:14 (13 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Taipei, April 16) - The Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture has successfully developed a "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine," which effectively improves soil management and promotes crop growth for crops cultivated in greenhouses and nets.
The Ministry of Agriculture issued a press release today, stating that the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, in order to assist farmers in solving the common problem of soil continuous cropping obstacles in facility cultivation and to improve the production efficiency of friendly farming, has successfully developed a "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine." This machine uses high-temperature steam for soil sterilization, effectively reducing the occurrence of soil-borne diseases and decreasing the use of chemical agents, thereby balancing crop production with environmental sustainability, and providing a brand-new soil management technology for facility agriculture.
Chen Yu-chu, director of the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, said that long-term continuous cultivation of facility crops can easily lead to the accumulation of pathogens and harmful substances in the soil, thereby causing continuous cropping obstacles, leading to weakened crop growth, and affecting yield and quality. Traditional steam sterilization methods mostly introduce steam from the soil surface, and the heat transfer efficiency downwards is limited, making the sterilization effect easily affected.
Chen Yu-chu said that the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine" uses steam spike tubes to directly introduce steam into the deep soil, allowing the soil to heat up rapidly and maintain a high-temperature environment, significantly improving sterilization efficiency. It can effectively inhibit soil-borne pathogens, underground pests, and weed seeds, and also helps to improve continuous cropping obstacles.
The Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station introduced that the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine" adopts a crawler-type self-propelled design, is electrically driven, and has wireless remote control functions. It can move flexibly within the facility environment. During operation, only 1 to 2 people are needed to complete the task, effectively reducing labor demand and improving operational efficiency. Furthermore, due to its electric design, it can reduce noise and exhaust emissions, meeting the production needs of environmental friendliness.
According to the test results from the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, the pH, organic matter, and main nutrient content of the soil treated by the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine" remained stable, with limited impact on soil physicochemical properties. Although the soil microbial population temporarily decreased in the early stage of treatment, it gradually recovered after a period of time. In trials with the cultivation of the flower crop Eustoma grandiflorum, the growth of plants treated with steam was significantly better than that in the untreated area.
The Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station has completed the technology transfer of the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine," transforming research results into practical agricultural machinery products that can be widely used in the cultivation of flowers and facility vegetables. (Editor: Lin Shuhui) 1150416
Stand with the facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom
Download the CNA "One-stop News" APP to get the latest news in real-time
Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
(Taipei, April 16) - The Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture has successfully developed a "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine," which effectively improves soil management and promotes crop growth for crops cultivated in greenhouses and nets.
The Ministry of Agriculture issued a press release today, stating that the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, in order to assist farmers in solving the common problem of soil continuous cropping obstacles in facility cultivation and to improve the production efficiency of friendly farming, has successfully developed a "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine." This machine uses high-temperature steam for soil sterilization, effectively reducing the occurrence of soil-borne diseases and decreasing the use of chemical agents, thereby balancing crop production with environmental sustainability, and providing a brand-new soil management technology for facility agriculture.
Chen Yu-chu, director of the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, said that long-term continuous cultivation of facility crops can easily lead to the accumulation of pathogens and harmful substances in the soil, thereby causing continuous cropping obstacles, leading to weakened crop growth, and affecting yield and quality. Traditional steam sterilization methods mostly introduce steam from the soil surface, and the heat transfer efficiency downwards is limited, making the sterilization effect easily affected.
Chen Yu-chu said that the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine" uses steam spike tubes to directly introduce steam into the deep soil, allowing the soil to heat up rapidly and maintain a high-temperature environment, significantly improving sterilization efficiency. It can effectively inhibit soil-borne pathogens, underground pests, and weed seeds, and also helps to improve continuous cropping obstacles.
The Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station introduced that the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine" adopts a crawler-type self-propelled design, is electrically driven, and has wireless remote control functions. It can move flexibly within the facility environment. During operation, only 1 to 2 people are needed to complete the task, effectively reducing labor demand and improving operational efficiency. Furthermore, due to its electric design, it can reduce noise and exhaust emissions, meeting the production needs of environmental friendliness.
According to the test results from the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, the pH, organic matter, and main nutrient content of the soil treated by the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine" remained stable, with limited impact on soil physicochemical properties. Although the soil microbial population temporarily decreased in the early stage of treatment, it gradually recovered after a period of time. In trials with the cultivation of the flower crop Eustoma grandiflorum, the growth of plants treated with steam was significantly better than that in the untreated area.
The Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station has completed the technology transfer of the "self-propelled soil steam sterilization machine," transforming research results into practical agricultural machinery products that can be widely used in the cultivation of flowers and facility vegetables. (Editor: Lin Shuhui) 1150416
Stand with the facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom
Download the CNA "One-stop News" APP to get the latest news in real-time
Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.