Environmental nuisances controlled by the electrostatic approaches Fungal spores The first environmental nuisance is airborne conidia (asexual spores) of plat pathogenic fungi, especially the prolific fungal pathogens causing diseases in pre-and post-harvest agricultural crops. Abstract Background: Principles of basic electrostatics have been used to develop new novel apparatuses for managing biotic and abiotic invasive nuisances in different environments. Biotic targets were air-borne spores

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... plant pathogenic fungi and pollen grains causing pollinosis and insect pests transmitting pathogens of crop plants, livestock and humans, and as an abiotic target smoke fine particle causing various human diseases. To control these environmental nuisances, unique phenomena generated in the electric field were applied to the apparatuses to capture or repel the targets. The discharge-free electric field, which was generated between the opposite charges of the earthed non-insulated conductor and the insulated conductor charged, was highly effective to create an electrostatic attractive force to trap biotic targets. The discharge-generating electric field was an alternative method to create the attractive force by negatively ionizing smoke fine particles in the electric field, to kill pathogenic microbials by exposing streamer discharge-based ozone or corona discharge-based plasma stream to them, and to electrocute insect pests by shooting high-energy free electrons to them. These theoretical and technical progresses enable not only to create spore-free and pest-free space in agricultural and horticultural environments for crop production and preservation, but to purify indoor air in human domestic environments.