Climate change, soil degradation, and the spread of seed-borne pathogens pose serious challenges to global food security and agricultural sustainability. Although chemical seed treatment provides pathogen control, it poses environmental and health risks. This review analyses innovative seed treatment technologies, with particular emphasis on ozonation as an ecologically viable alternative. The mechanisms of action of ozone, its effects on seed germination, reduction of microbial contamination, and crop establishment are discussed. Chemical, physical, and biological treatment methods are comparatively evaluated, analyzing their effectiveness, environmental impact, and application limitations.

Products must be cleaned or otherwise treated to keep them clean when they are prepared for further production or when they are supplied fresh to the consumer. Cereals have significantly lower settling losses than succulent agricultural products, but the risks that can arise from their hydrothermal treatment before milling—where the cereals are moistened and left to rest for 14 h (temperature 30 °C)—are often underestimated. This operation creates a favourable environment for the development of micro-organisms, which, if not destroyed, can continue throughout the processing stages and be passed on to the consumer. This study investigated the qualitative characteristics of winter wheat hydrothermally treated with ozonated water at a concentration of 1.51 ± 0.1 mg L⁻¹, such as the amount of mould in the grains and flour, as well as the grain protein, moisture, gluten, sedimentation, starch and weight per hectolitre. For the assessment of these parameters, the account was taken of the State standard, which provides the grain class and the type of grain. The reduction in mould fungi after the treatment of the winter wheat grain with ozonated water ranged between 440 and 950 CFU g⁻¹. The results of the microbiological analysis showed that the ozone treatment improved the mycological safety of the flour samples made from the grain from an average of 390 ± 110 CFU g⁻¹ to 29 ± 12 CFU g⁻¹. On the other hand, the treatment of kernels with ozonated water did not significantly affect the basic composition of the winter wheat grains.

One of the problematic sectors according to GHG (greenhouse gas) and ammonia (NH₃) emission quantities is agriculture. Without endangering food production (and intensifying), GHG emissions come from all sources in animal husbandry. The aim of this study was to comprehensively reduce GHG emissions by applying a holistic process management model to one of the most popular cowsheds in Lithuania (260-seat boxing cowshed, cows are milked on site, computerized management of technological processes, productivity of 8600 kg of milk, barn system, and liquid manure). Considering the cow keeping technology applied on the farm, the equipment used, and the feed production and ration system, a model for the management of technological parameters of production processes was prepared for the farm. This model balanced trade-offs among animal welfare, cow productivity, production costs, and GHG and NH₃ emissions. The aim of the research was the adaptation of the integrated model to fully control, manage, and optimize milk production processes through bio- and engineering innovations to implement climate-friendly feed production and feeding and feed rationing systems, to improve animal housing and working conditions, and to reduce GHG and NH₃ emissions without increasing production costs. The environmental impact assessment was performed with SimaPro 9.1 process modeling software. Data from milk production, biomass cultivation, and feed preparation, transportation, and equipment were used from the Ecoinvent v3 database. Based on the LML-I calculation methodology, the effect of processes was determined. To quantify the potential emissions in the dairy farm, the emission factors were estimated using a life cycle assessment method per functional unit—1000 kg—of standardized milk. Grass silage, maize silage, and feed concentrate were found to account for the largest share of gas emissions—26.09% (107.39 kg CO₂ eq. FU⁻¹), 22.70% (93.44 kg CO₂ eq. FU⁻¹), and 21.85% (89.92 kg CO₂ eq. FU⁻¹) of the total CO₂ emissions during the process, respectively. Considering the critical points of the classic SC scenario, the cultivation technology was adjusted, where 50% of N fertilizers were replaced by bioproducts (biological preparations). Both scenarios—classic SC (control variant) and Bio SC (variants using bioproducts)—were evaluated for comparison. The use of biopreparations in the categories reduced the environmental impact from 0.1% to 45.7% in dairy production technology grass silage, barley grain, hay production, and corn silage stocks. The carbon footprint of the sustainable bio-based milk production (0.393 kg CO₂ eq. kg⁻¹ FPCM (fat- and protein-adjusted milk)) was lower by 4.6% compared to the average Lithuanian classic dairy farm (0.412 kg CO₂ eq. kg⁻¹ FPCM). Based on this methodology, it is possible to assess many dairy farms and address critical points in an integrated way, which can help to improve the quality of dairy production and the environment.

Due to environmental pollution and global warming, the use of renewable energy sources such as agricultural residues is gaining attention. Corn is the main source of food in many countries, and after harvesting it, the agricultural and industrial sectors generate significant amounts of residues. This study focused on corncob processing, its preparation, and the evaluation of its characteristics for energy needs. There was no significant difference between drying with active ventilation in the dryer and outdoor drying conditions. The adequate moisture content of corncob pellets is 12.39% at a compression ratio of 3.43 ± 0.011 and a maximum pellet density of 1012.96 ± 3.35 kg m⁻³. The variation in pellet density at a given adequate moisture content is at least 0.78%. The compression ratio of the pellets compacted on the horizontal matrix granulator is 9.75% higher than that of the pellets produced on the laboratory automatic press. The corncob’s lower calorific value was 17.35 ± 0.14 MJ kg⁻¹, and the ash content was 1.78 ± 0.24%. The produced pellets are strong enough and can be used for combustion. This research may help to better understand the properties of corncobs and their energy potential.

Studies have shown that ozone is a good oxidizer and a strong disinfectant. There are many uses for ozone in the food industry, but there is relatively little information about the influence of ozone on biochemical composition and the capacity to reduce the number of microorganisms in birch sap. In this study, sap was ozonated at different intervals for 5 min (O₃: 0.087 ± 0.009 mg L⁻¹), 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, 25 min, or 30 min (O₃: 0.99 ± 0.09 mg L⁻¹). The parameters of the birch sap were studied immediately after the ozone treatment as well as during storage for seven days at 2 °C and for five days at 20 °C. The parameters of ozonated birch sap were compared with the parameters of fresh sap (control). The microbiological analysis included total bacterial count, lactic acid bacterial count, and yeast and mold count. Birch sap color, pH, titratable acidity, and ºBrix values were also determined. Evaluation of monosaccharides, sucrose, total sugars, and ascorbic acid was carried out in fresh sap as well as sap ozonated for 30 min, immediately after ozonation. The results show the statistical significance of the inactivation of microorganisms after treatment in most cases. The microorganism counts gradually reduced with increasing intervals of ozone treatment. The best results were obtained after 25 and 30 min of ozonation. Ozone treatment did not significantly influence the pH, titratable acidity, or °Brix statistically. Values of monosaccharides, sucrose, total sugars, and ascorbic acid were influenced within the margin of error. Ozone had a significant influence on the chroma and hue angle.