Swap water. Keep your fungicide. Add yield.
In a 2025 corn trial at the independent Precision Technology Institute (PTI) in Illinois, replacing water with Plasma Strikes plasma activated water (PAW) as the spray carrier for a VT Miravis®Neo application returned +220 kg/ha at a carrier cost of AUD $0.31/ha.
Same fungicide. Same sprayer. Same rate. Different carrier.
The Idea
You're already putting water through the sprayer. PAW goes through the same sprayer, at the same rate, doing the same job — with an additional payload.
A fungicide pass carries the active ingredient to the canopy through water. PAW — plasma activated water, made on-farm from air, water and electricity — contains nitrate and nitrite, has a low pH, and appears to act as a penetration aid for the fungicide into the leaf structure. The 2025 PTI trial in Illinois ran at 18.7 L/ha carrier volume; the same principle applies at any sprayer's water rate.
PTI's researchers attribute the yield response to three things: the nitrogen PAW carries, its role as a potential penetration synergist for the fungicide, and its low pH on the leaf surface.
At AUD $0.03/L generated on-farm, carrier cost is trivial against any measurable fungicide ROI. The 2025 PTI trial shows the mechanism delivering yield. Same active, same rate, different carrier.
A $0.31 input against a $56 yield response.
- Yield gain - Plasma Strike vs water carrier: +220 kg/ha
- Gross value of yield gain (at US trial corn price) - $56.70/ha
- Carrier rate - 18.7 L/ha
- Plasma Strike carrier cost - $0.31/ha
- Net return - $56.38/ha
Trial commodity price USD $4.13/bu corn (USD $162.60/t). AUD conversion at 1 AUD = 0.63 USD. PAW generation cost basis: PTI's reported USD $0.04/Gal directly converted (= ~A$0.017/L AUD); actual Plasma Strike operating cost in Australian conditions is A$0.03/L. Australian crop economics will differ by crop, price, disease pressure and sprayer water rate.
Three things Plasma Strike does that water doesn't.
🧪 Low pH leaf surface
PAW sits acidic. On the leaf surface this may aid the fungicide's control of leaf disease pathogens and shift the surface environment against fungal establishment.
🎯 Penetration synergy
PAW appears to act as a carrier adjuvant, moving more of the active ingredient into the leaf structure rather than sitting on the surface.
🛡️ Triggers the plant's own defences
Plasma Strike carries reactive nitrogen and oxygen species that peer-reviewed research shows can switch on the plant's natural disease-defence response.
By the way... not the first time we have seen this.
In 2025 we shared the below Fungicide/Plasma Strike Carrier trials from Becks Hybrids in the United States:
And this one too:
Need More Proof?
The Plasma Strike fungicide carrier story isn't built on a single trial. Two of the largest US private-trial programs ran it in 2025, and a growing body of peer-reviewed research backs the mechanism: low pH and reactive nitrogen and oxygen species in plasma activated water enhance fungicide performance on the leaf.
Other studies:
- Guo, J. et al. (2023) — Plasma-activated water for inactivation of Fusarium graminearum spores: An in-vitro wheat study. Field-plot trial: PAW alone reduced wheat Fusarium head blight incidence, FHB index, and DON mycotoxin contamination. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643823003948
- Adhikari, B. et al. (2020) — Plasma-activated water triggers plant defence responses. Reactive species in PAW switch on the plant's natural defence gene expression. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7644721/
- Rotondo, P. et al. (2025) — Plasma-activated fog for postharvest treatments to reduce spoilage by fungal pathogens. Direct antifungal activity of PAW-derived treatments on commercial fruit. link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40538-025-00865-0
- Jirešová, J. et al. (2022) — Effect of Plasma-Activated Water on Wheat Grain Properties. Confirms PAW's active components (H₂O₂, HNO₂, HNO₃) and their measurable biological effect. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9183031/
- Ali, M. et al. (2021) — Effect of plasma activated water on fungicide degradation from tomato fruit. Demonstrates PAW's chemical reactivity with fungicide molecules. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33636620/
- Suriyasak, C. et al. (2022) — Cold plasma and plasma-activated water in agriculture. Review of 30+ field and lab studies across cereals, fruits and vegetables. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8539132/
Buy Today so you have Plasma Strike PAW stored up, ready for your first fungicide pass.
This discussion assesses whether Plasma Strike fits your current nitrogen program, cropping system, and logistics.