• ozonated water
• basil
• essential oil
• grapevine
• grey-mould

The Farm to Fork strategy's goal of reducing pesticide use has increased demand for developing more eco-friendly tools. Among them, essential oils possess multifunctional properties besides their traditional roles as natural food additives and fragrances. In recent years, basil essential oils (BEOs) have gained attention due to their biological properties, suggesting their potential in managing pests and plant diseases, such as Botrytis cinerea (Bc). In this context, ozonated water (OW), could represent a promising and sustainable means for improving crop yield and quality of plants. This thesis aimed to evaluate BEOs’ ability to inhibit the in vitro and in planta development of Bc mycelium, and OW's ability to improve the quality of essential oil extracts.
Ocimum basilicum cv. Tigullio plants were treated with OW (400 ppb) or water (control) for 3 weeks. The above biomass was collected and hydrodistilled for 3 h. BEOs antifungal activity against Bc was investigated in vitro using amended media and liquid cultures. BEO from plants irrigated with OW was tested in vivo on Vitis vinifera cv. Sangiovese plants inoculated with Bc (105 spores ml-1). On grapes, the Area Under the Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC) and biochemical compounds were evaluated. Hierarchical cluster and principal component analysis were used to investigate BEOs composition. Student’s t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) assessed the effect of “treatment”, and the two-way ANOVA was used to investigate the effect of “treatment”, “time” and their interaction.
In amended media, BEOs inhibited Bc mycelium growth at 48 and 72 h (-30 and -50% respectively). In liquid cultures, different concentrations of BEOs (0.04-0.188 mL/mL), and of Bc (0.160-0.012 mL/mL) were investigated at 0, 1, 16, 20, 24, 48, and 72 h post inoculation, and for each, significant reductions were revealed. Two-way ANOVA on AUDPC values revealed that BEO decreased Bc development compared to water + Bc (-45%). One-way ANOVA revealed that BEO preserved total anthocyanins, glucose, fructose, and malic acid against Bc laccases. OW increased BEO content in monoterpenes hydrocarbons (3-fold higher) and phenylpropanoids (+16%). In conclusion, BEO could represent a valid natural alternative to cut off or reduce the use of agrochemicals, while OW can increase the content of secondary metabolites responsible for the properties of BEO. However, further investigations are needed.