The company has recently released a patented mobile ozone spraying system that can be fitted onto existing equipment and effectively used for pest and mould management without the need for harsh chemicals.
“We started six years ago, developing the process of getting ozone into water, as an alternative to current spraying frost protection systems,” Biofume Director Roger Cherry says.
“It’s a simple approach to keeping crops clean. Ozone is a natural product and it’s been around in other industries for ages. It’s already used for disinfecting water – actually all bottled water uses ozone as a disinfectant – so it’s very friendly, and very green.”
Biofume has spent years engineering various ozone conversion and distribution options, including developing their own crop sprayer, before designing a state-of-the-art system that can be retrofitted onto existing equipment.
“It’s about utilising what people already have. So farmers can use their existing chemical sprayer, we provide our ozone conversion unit and a manifold that’s fitted on it, and the whole thing is powered using a battery inverter on the tractor,” Mr Cherry says.
“So people can switch between using ozone and other sprays if they want to, and all it takes once you’re set up is the flick of a switch.” He says they started in New Zealand with some kiwifruit orchards that wanted another way to deal with the bacterial disease Psa (Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae) – and the results speak for themselves.
“There’s now kiwifruit orchards here in New Zealand that haven’t done any sprays this season, except with ozonated water, so they’re very happy with the results,” he says, adding that they will never have to switch to a new spray as nothing can build up a resistance to ozone.
“Ozone explodes the cell walls of molecules, so organisms can’t build up resistance to it, which is a huge advantage over chemical sprays.”
Mr Cherry says ozone has been considered an alternative to traditional sprays for years, but very few companies have been able to develop reliable or cost effective systems.
“Predominantly I think people have purchased ozone equipment before, or put bits and pieces together, and it’s had poor reliability. But as technology has developed, it’s paved the way for companies like ours to develop better distribution systems,” he says.
“We’ve been at this for years though, and I come from a science background, so that is also an advantage. So we have designed and manufactured all kinds of generators and ozone packs and invested close to $2 million on that side of it.
“It’s a huge commitment, but results showed we had to do it so we backed ourselves and now we can see it’s been worth it.”
As well as the portable spraying system, Biofume has designed systems for overhead sprinklers and crop washing, setting it up as an industry leader in this field.
“Once again, with the overhead frost protection sprinklers, we utilised what people already had. So we developed the system, and then redesigned it to meet specific requirements and work with existing overhead sprinkler systems,” Mr Cherry explains.
“Then with processing and grading plants, we have our crop washing system which can be set up to wash fruit, such as apples, before grading to remove all bacteria and fungus. It stops rotting and also oxidises chemicals off fruit, so even if they have been sprayed in the orchard, they can be treated with this system and the chemical traces will be neutralised.”
He says there are large apple plants in New Zealand that have also invested in Biofume’s system for water flumes.
“There’s one major apple operation in New Zealand that swears by this system,” he says.
“Because the other thing to be aware of is that the industry is actually finding many of the chemicals used to float apples during this process are becoming banned in different countries, so companies have got to get rid of the residue of the chemicals and that’s where we come in.”
Biofume is currently managing all sales of it’s ozone-based technology directly, both in New Zealand and internationally, with plans to continue expanding as more people realise the benefits of this system.
“We’ve very proud of what we have,” Mr Cherry says. “Now we just want to get it out there for people.”
For more information:
Roger Cherry
Biofume Limited
roger@biofume.co.nz