Soil treatment with steam, built in Salinas.
High Degree builds and operates field-scale steam machines. Before a crop is planted, our machine moves across the field and heats the soil with steam, controlling the pathogens and weed seed that would otherwise attack the crop. No chemical fumigants are used.
Why steam
Strawberries and many other specialty crops are planted into soil that carries pathogens such as Fusarium, Verticillium, Macrophomina and Phytophthora. For decades the standard answer has been chemical fumigation. Organic growers cannot fumigate at all, and the conventional growers that can fumigate face ever tightening limits, especially on fields that are near schools and homes.
Heat does the same job. Holding soil at about 158°F (70°C) for 20 to 30 minutes controls the major soilborne pathogens and most weed seed. This is pasteurization, not sterilization: beneficial soil microbial life recolonizes afterward.
Why it took a new machine
Steam has been used in greenhouses for a long time. Doing it across open fields takes far more heat, delivered much more efficiently, from a machine that can travel from farm to farm. No such machine existed, so we designed and built our own in Salinas. Our newest, Unit 3, is the largest yet.
How we work
We run the machines ourselves as a pre-plant service. A grower books a field for treatment, we bring the machine and crew, treat the soil, then leave. After, the grower plants their crop. Steam can be used in certified organic fields, needs no permits and has no keep-out period.
Where the science comes from
The method comes out of decades of research on steam as an alternative to fumigation. Our team combines 27 years of pest management research with more than 20 years of hardware engineering on agricultural and off-road vehicles.
Beyond strawberries
We are focusing on strawberries because those growers have the clearest need for soil steam treatments. However, many crops in many growing regions can benefit from this treatment and we plan to bring this approach to other crops including vegetables, caneberries, nursery stock, and orchard and vineyard replants.
Have a field that needs work?
Now booking for 2027. Get in touch or email at info@highdegreemachinery.com