Methyl bromide is an important part of ornamental production.
The combination of methyl bromide and chloropicrin has long been
used to control weeds, nematodes and plant pathogens like
Pythium. The majority of this fumigant is used for strawberries,
fruit trees and vegetables in Florida and California, but there
is a substantial amount of the product used in floriculture
production. Some industries have found acceptable alternatives
over the past five years and no longer use methyl bromide.
Floriculture has been struggling to find an acceptable
alternative. The production of field-grown cut flowers, some in-
ground shade house flowers and caladiums rely on availability of
methyl bromide (MBr) for economically acceptable crops. I have
even met a few greenhouse growers who still use soil as a part
of their potting medium and fumigate the resulting blend with
MBr before use. The California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) took
the lead in funding research on MBr alternatives in ornamental
production in the early 1990