Ecological treatments with ozone are gaining ground for their safety, but also for the high demand for organic or zero waste fruit and vegetable products. “Ozone is an effective natural disinfectant formed by three oxygen atoms. Its main advantage in agriculture and the food industry is that it decomposes into oxygen once it has done what it was intended to do, leaving no chemical residues of any kind, neither in the facilities, nor in the food products,” says Jaume Sevilla Monsalve, manager of Mizono (official distributor of ASP Asepsia products).
Mizono is a pioneering company which has managed to develop a system to mix water and ozone with a homogeneous and stable result. “With ASP Asepsia, we made it possible for ozone and water to remain stable for longer than usual. However, we are still researching to ensure that the homogeneous suspension will be maintained for up to two hours. It is an innovative method,” says the manager.
“The application of water with ozone has a disinfectant effect with an ozonation index of no less than about 700 parts per million, with the capacity to reach up to 1,000. The crop treatment can be foliar (applied to the leaves of the plants) or be carried out through irrigation (with a solution). When applied through irrigation, the bacterial load in the soil is reduced, the roots are sanitized, more micro-roots appear and thus the plant absorbs more nutrients,” says Jaume.
The ASP Asepsia ozone tool is effective in cases of aerial pests, such as powdery mildew, but can also eradicate Phytophtora, Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Mycosphaerella, Botrytis, Sclerotinia, mildew, Alternaria, etc.
“When used in greenhouses, it is an affordable solution, as it leads to saving in fungicide costs. That is why the popularity of the ASP ozone tool for agriculture and post-harvest is increasing, attracting a lot of interest among Spanish and European producers and marketers. In the case of woody trees, it takes longer to pay off, because the cycles are longer. In greenhouses with 3 annual harvests, the results are clear,” says Jaume Sevilla.
The company rents material so that the grower can test its effectiveness before investing. “In the end, the investment is not high, since a grower can invest from € 6,000 to € 15,000 for an improvement in quality, an increase in the production volume and a final product with less chemical waste,” says Jaume.
The interest in these methods is not limited to the domestic market, since countries such as France, Italy and Morocco are also investing in ozone application equipment.
Mizono is a consultant in the agrotech sector with more than 20 years of experience and specialized in the installation of ozone (O3) equipment with zero waste.
ASP Asepsia is a company delivering ozone services and a Spanish manufacturer of ozone generators. The firm has every European authorization necessary for the marketing of ozone for biocidal purposes. For certain uses, the product known as Eco Ozone has also received the organic input certification.
For more information:
Jaume Sevilla Monsalve, manager
Mizono
T +34 96 349 25 56
jaume@mizono.es
www.mizono.es