The nonthermal ELF-EP technique decrease the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics

Extreme low-frequency square positive electric pulses (ELF-EP) are a technique that used in controlling plant pathogens. In this study, we have studied the exposure of Erwinia amylovora (the causal of pear trees fire blight) to different frequencies ranged from 0.7 - 1.6 Hz and different exposure time with pulse duration 1 ms and constant field strength 400 V/m. The results indicate that exposing to 1.4 Hz for 2 hrs decreases the E. amylovora growth. After exposing ELF-EP, antibiotic treatments were caused complete growth inhibition. This study concluded that ELF-EP exposure for 1.4 Hz for 2 hrs rupture the bacterium cell wall and disrupts the cell membrane permeability, which increases the efficacy of antibiotic treatments in bacterial cell growth inhibition.