Ozone treatment inactivates common bacteria and fungi associated with selected crop seeds and ornamental bulbs.

The use of disease-free seeds or bulbs is very crucial to ensure sustainable and profitable agricultural production. Seed-borne pathogens which are responsible for significant yield losses in various crops need to be successfully eliminated with appropriate seed treatments. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of gaseous ozone (O) and ozonated water treatments on the inactivation of seed-borne fungal and bacterial pathogens of widely cultivated vegetable and cereal seeds, and ornamental bulbs.