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To address the short lifetime of plasma‐activated water (PAW), this work reports on the application of ultralong‐lasting PAW for plant disease treatment. Compared with lettuce without ultralong‐lasting PAW treatment, the treated lettuce solution showed c. 1 log10 colony forming units mL−1 decrease in pathogens, as well as improvements in leaf area, leaf weight, root length, and root weight by 75%, 20%, 108.33%, and 150%, respectively. The leaf withering/root mortality rate of PAW‐treated plants was significantly lower than those of non‐PAW‐treated plants. Besides, disease defense‐related enzymes, such as catalase and β−1,3‐glucanase, were respectively enhanced by 112.5% and 5.13% in PAW‐treated lettuce, while the plant defense‐related genes were upregulated to respond to the pathogen's invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen oxide‐generating dielectric barrier discharge plasma is shown to effectively inhibit microorganisms and maintain fruit freshness. Physical and biological mechanisms of the plasma‐electrified fungicidal effects suggest that plasma‐generated NO and ONOO− species and other factors are crucial to regulating physiological senescence in citrus fruit while controlling pathogens on their surface. The revealed Physico‐chemical effects explain the observed phenotypic changes and the suppression of surface pathogens, thus providing mechanistic insights into postharvest fruit processing with plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]