Inactivation of Fusarium oxysporum Conidia in Soil with Gaseous Ozone – Preliminary Studies

ABSTRACT

In this study, the efficiency of gaseous ozone (O₃) injected in the soil as an oxidizing agent for the inactivation of F. oxysporum was evaluated under laboratory conditions. The results show the treatment reached an inactivation efficiency of 76% after an applied dose of 0.40 g O₃ kg ⁻¹ soil. This shows that the injection of O₃ can be a viable alternative to control pathogenic organisms in the soils. Nevertheless, it is clear that more studies on determining the effects of this treatment on soil quality are needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Gaseous ozone
• Fusarium oxysporum
• Inactivation of spores
• Soil injection
• Crop wilt

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Institución Universitaria Colegio Mayor de Antioquia for providing the space and the materials for the development of this project. Especially María Elena González, Jesús Ubany Zuluaga and Edward Rueda for their willingness and help.