Contaminated water, when recycled, often ends up being applied to plants sensitive to plant growth regulators or otherwise applied where growth regulators are not intended to be used. In addition, contaminated water may be discharged off-site and have unintended downstream consequences.

Unlike chlorine, ozone is non-toxic and does not produce disinfection byproducts (DBP’s).

Once dissolved in water, ozone destroys the pathogens and then safely reverts back to oxygen. After being dissolved in water, it destroys the pathogens before returning to oxygen.

More plant pathogens are developing resistance to many traditional fungicides and growers are also seeing undesirable side effects on their plants from the application of chemicals.

Ozonization should be considered as part of an overall strategy to reduce plant pathogens in recirculated irrigation water with the concomitant risk of increased disease incidence and keep a natural agriculture.

In order to get a 100% natural agriculture, we need to make the ozonization process more efficient and profitable, factors such as the quality of recirculated irrigation water (levels of turbidity, composition and the presence or not of organic or inorganic constituents), water volume to be treated (large volumes of water will considerably increase the ozone generation requirements), as well as the physical characteristics of the area (terrain, layout of the plantations, etc.) should be considered.

The agricultural industry is now realizing the benefits of ozone. Farmers are now beginning to use ozone treatment to disinfect water (recycled or fresh) and ensure a natural agriculture.

Increasingly, stringent water policies are being developed that have led farmers to seek modern treatment alternatives with less impact on the environment.

Plant growth regulators during agricultural production are used to control the growth of plants and also to increase their yield, which in turn lead to the possibility of contamination of irrigation water with these plant growth regulating chemicals.

Some applications of ozonated water in natural agriculture:

• Irrigation to kill bacteria and micro-organisms which damage the plant since its germination stage and the removal of molds, root rot and fungi;

• Pretreatment (sterilization) of soils before sowing;

• Immersion of soil pots in ozonated water for disinfection of cuttings;

• Treatment of water used for irrigation in order to eliminate algae, heavy metals (such as iron and manganese) and related bacteria (eg. iron bacteria, mangano-bacteria, etc.) present in artificial basins and maximum reuse of water;

• Greenhouse spraying for the reduction and elimination of insects and pests;

• Washing of fruits and vegetables, to ensure maximum hygiene and prolongation of its freshness and shelf life after harvest;

• And much more.

So we can say that irrigation of crops with ozonated water is beneficial because:

• Protection against diseases that occur due to infections, without leaving harmful residues for human consumption and the environment, which dissolve in oxygen;

• Promoting better plant growth, since irrigation with ozonated water provides a greater amount of oxygen, free of viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, spores and other microorganisms;

• It offers other advantages, as it allows a more voluminous and productive crop, obtained in a very short time, which means a huge saving in the amount of water used for irrigation and in the cost of fertilizers and additives, which are later used to promote faster growth;

• Improves the appearance and flavor of the plants;

• Allows cost reduction because it is produced on site, does not require consumables and has low maintenance costs, in addition to a very significant reduction in fertilizers, pesticides and other agents.

Ozone is a naturally produced gas that is commonly used as a sanitizing agent to help kill microorganisms in water.

Ozonated water has been used abroad in greenhouses, out-of-ground and in open field cultivations and, by now, it is increasingly used given the excellent results obtained without using chemical products.

Some tested and recognized ozone benefits on the natural agriculture are:

• Ozone is easy to produce from air or oxygen;

• Ozone dissolves 12 times more easily in water than oxygen;

• Ozone is efficient in pathogens control (chlorination is an effective method of combating pathogens but its residual effects can harm plant life, ozone does not leave any residue);

• Ozone does not produce more toxic compounds than removed ones, and neither introduces foreign matter to the medium, fact that chlorine does;

• Ozone reacts readily with organic and inorganic compounds due to its high reduction potential and reactivity;

• Along with disinfection, ozone also lowers the COD, color, odor and turbidity of the water treated;

• Possible excesses of ozone in water decompose readily to oxygen, without leaving any residue;

• The increase in oxygen means that many diseased plants are quick to recover and pathogens are also less likely to take hold of healthy plants;

• Since ozone is a very powerful germicidal agent, it eliminates almost all infection-causing microorganisms and in return provides a better product in terms of volume, weight, size, strength, nutritional value and taste;

• Ozone allows the destruction of soil contaminants such as:

  • VOCs (volatile organic compounds),

  • Pesticides,

  • Hydrocarbons,

  • Chlorinated solvents,

  • TCE (trichlorethylene),

  • BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene),

  • MTBE (tertiary-butyl methyl ether),

  • among others. others;

• Ozone is safe for plant nutrients;

• Ozone is 100% Natural, so it is environmentally friendly and does not change the biological properties of the products and ensure a natural agriculture.