Integrated vineyard management trials using ozonated and electrolyzed water

A reduction of pesticide and fungicide use in agriculture is necessary and therefore new safer and sustainable plant disease control methods need to be developed. Ozone is one of the most potent sanitizing agents known and it is active against many different microbial forms at relatively low concentrations. The ozone molecule self-decomposes rapidly producing oxygen and without leaving toxic residues in the environment. Even electrolyzed water has a strong oxidizing capacity, that results in a drastic reduction in the microbial load found on a given surface. Both ozone and electrolyzed water are commonly used for the sanification in the food industry and to control disease post-harvest. These characteristics make these compounds very interesting as potential alternatives to the chemical pesticides currently used for disease control in the fields. In this study the effect of vineyard treatments with ozonated and electrolyzed water on the bacterial, fungi and yeast populations found naturally on the leaves and grape bunches was evaluated.