What is the optimal way to use hydrogen peroxide and silver agricultural disinfectant in agriculture and farming?
A suitable agricultural disinfectant has a wide variety of applications in agriculture. In addition to its more well-known applications, such as sanitising animal stalls, agricultural disinfectants are most frequently used in farming to disinfect the pipes and tanks of drinking troughs and to ensure healthy plants in hydroponics systems by disinfecting pipes and basins (as well as treating nutrient solutions in irrigation systems).
They are also employed to sanitise transport and storage systems for vegetables and fruit (disinfecting cold rooms, for example), to treat plant diseases like root rot and mildew and to reduce post-harvest losses. Treating or disinfecting water for rinsing or washing salads, vegetables and fruit is not an agricultural or farming application as such, but is included here for completeness.
What makes hydrogen peroxide and silver agricultural disinfectants ideal for agriculture and farming?
It goes without saying that any disinfectants and biocides used in water systems should also be suitable for disinfecting water while neither harming the plants nor leaving behind problematic residues. This narrows the choice from the outset. Oxidising substances like chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone and hydrogen are the best agents.
However, these biocides all have one weakness in common – they break down upon contact with organic material and do not have a preventive effect. The result is that bacteria and fungi are not actively inhibited from forming again and can only be held in check with high dosages.
In contrast, biocides consisting of hydrogen peroxide and silver, such as agricultural disinfectant Sanosil Super 25, not only act faster and more powerfully on a range of microorganisms, but also last longer. This means a lower concentration of the active agent can be used, which in turn protects the plants.
Disinfecting irrigation systems in agriculture with an agricultural disinfectant
Modern agriculture frequently employs sophisticated irrigation systems such as top feeders, dripping systems or conventional sprinklers. However, the likelihood of biofilms, bacteria and fungi forming in the systems increases with a decreasing water flow rate and smaller pipes. In the former case, sections of the pipes can become blocked by bacterial slime and clotted biofilms (and entire crop sections may thus be lost unless prompt action is taken). The much-feared pythium fungi spread primarily through contaminated irrigation systems.
Consistently adding a low dosage of Sanosil agricultural disinfectant, or conducting intermittent shock dosing, are the available options for keeping the entire irrigation system in good shape – without biofilms, bacteria or fungi thriving in the tanks and water systems. Sanosil Super 25 hydrogen peroxide and silver disinfectant is well-tolerated by crops, making it possible to also provide optimal protection for young and sensitive agricultural plants.
Disinfecting humidifiers, water and sprinkler systems and the role of greenhouse disinfectant
To achieve optimal humidity in greenhouses, the air requires humidifying. This is normally accomplished by spraying water through misting nozzles (fog method) either directly into the space or via air currents and ventilators. This approach works as long as water continuously flows through the pipes.
But if there is standing water in the pipes supplying the misting nozzles, microbes such as bacteria and fungi quickly proliferate. In the worst cases, they can not only contaminate the plants with mould and bacteria, but also put workers’ health at risk (Legionella, pseudomonas). A small quantity (20–30 ml of Sanosil Super 25 hydrogen peroxide and silver as a greenhouse disinfectant per 1000 L of spray) is sufficient to keep agricultural humidifiers and fogging systems free from microbes.
After the harvest: disinfecting surfaces and the air in refrigerated warehouses and storage containers
Fresh from the field, fruits and vegetables are contaminated with all sorts of microbes such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi spores and mould. If this microbiological contamination is successfully reduced before storage commences, losses due to mould and rot can be cut considerably while improving storage periods immensely.
Regularly cleaning and disinfecting the surfaces of containers storage rooms, machines and so forth with an agricultural disinfectant protects freshly harvested produce against becoming contaminated. This extends the storage life and storage periods. Cold fogging devices such as the Sanosil Easyfog, or any other cold fogger designed to treat large agricultural spaces with agricultural disinfectants, are suitable for the purpose.
After the harvest, part 2: improving storage life by disinfecting rinsing and fogging water
One option is to wash the produce by adding a small quantity of Sanosil Super 25 hydrogen peroxide and silver disinfectant to the water instead of the typically-used chlorine. Sanosil Super 25 is suitable for disinfecting drinking water and does not leave problematic residue on the produce. However, unlike chlorine, it has a long-lasting effect. This method is particularly popular for leaf lettuce but is also effective for other vegetables and fruit.
The second option is to spray the fresh-cut vegetables or crops with water containing Sanosil Super 25 disinfectants used in agriculture. Again, only small doses are required to achieve measurable results. Because vegetables need regular fogging to prevent them from drying out anyway, it is easy to treat the water used for fogging with agricultural disinfectant Super 25 without changing the process.
