Effect of H2O-Based Low-Pressure Plasma (LPP) Treatment on the Germination of Bambara Groundnut Seeds

Abstract

In general, seed germination is improved by low-pressure plasma (LPP) treatment using precursors such as air, nitrogen, argon, or water (H2O). Here, H2O-based LPP treatment using the optimized parameters of 10 W and 10 s improves the germination of Bambara groundnut seeds by 22%. LPP increases the wettability and roughness of the seed hilum while oxidizing the surface with carboxyl and amine groups. In this H2O-based treatment of Bambara groundnut seeds, combinatory etching and chemical modification facilitated the imbibition process and increased the germination percentage. The success of this method has the potential to be scaled up to solve food security with seeds otherwise facing germination-related issues.

A study to examine the ageing behaviour of cold plasma-treated agricultural seeds

“…This damage hurts the seeds’ germination and growth; higher electrical conductivity is also associated with more dead seeds, as reported elsewhere 15 . On the other hand, a moderate rise in electrical conductivity was associated with the positive interaction between water uptake and active plasma species introduced on the seed surface by cold plasma-treatment as described in our previous studies 10 , 16 , 17 . This moderate rise in electrical conductivity is useful for germination and growth; the leaching of nutrients and sugar contents was useful to provide the initial energy for germination 17 .…”

“…In the oxygen spectra, oxygen was dominant for surface etching because of its etching nature. Water plasma has 25 times higher etching ability than other precursors 17 , etching Bambara seeds with a 10 W discharge power and a 10-s exposure time was sufficient to affect the germination process. The appearance of nitrogen and hydrogen species in the oxygen spectra was attributed to air remaining in the chamber during plasma-treatment.…”

“…(Schematic diagrams for the setup used in the current study are presented Figs. S5 17 and S6 ). The pressure monitoring was carried out using a CVM211 stinger vacuum gauge.…”

“…The WCA study was carried out according to established protocol 17 . The apparent WCA was measured using a macro-lens setup with a high-resolution camera and utilizing a deionised (DI) water droplet of ~ 5 μl volume, with five replicates.…”

Impact of non-thermal plasma treatment on the seed germination and seedling development of carrot (Daucus carota sativus L.)

“…So, our findings also shows that RONS generated in the discharge might trigger GA to enhance seed germination. The interaction of the RONS in plasma with the seed coat may result in more effective water and nutrient uptake, as well as enhanced germination percentage, GI, and vigor index, as well as improved seed growth [11,54,55].…”