Germination and growth improvement of papaya utilizing oxygen (O₂) plasma treatment

Abstract

In general, cold plasma treatment improves crop germination and growth. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of low-pressure O2 plasma treatment on the germination and growth kinetics of papaya seeds. Seeds were treated for 40 sec at a discharge power of 80 W using O2 as a monomer. Physical and chemical changes were studied to understand the mechanism of germination and growth improvement. Furthermore, changes in phytohormones and antioxidant activity that were beneficial to germination were also examined. O2 plasma treatment improved wettability, surface etching, and oxidation, and affected other molecular-level changes leading to a 16% germination improvement in papaya.

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

“…5(i)): C-C/C-H (285 eV), C-O, C-N (286.5 eV), and C = O. (288.3 eV) 10,14,15 . The experiment was repeated with chilli and papaya, and the effect was evaluated for a 51-day ageing period.…”

“…Cold plasma-treatment was carried out similar to our previous studies 10,25 . The parameters selected for germination and growth improvements were also utilised for the ageing studies.…”

“…Water uptake measurements were carried out using an earlier described method with modi cations 10,26 . Because of the considerable variation in size, each species has a different sample size.…”

“…OES study was carried out using the method previously described 10,16 . Ocean Optics USB2000 was used to identify the plasma species formed during plasma-treatment.…”

“…As part of this framework, cold plasma-treatments in agriculture are being extensively researched. Hundreds of research articles claiming improved crop germination and growth have been published [8][9][10] . However, as most of these studies were conducted immediately after plasma-treatment, further studies are needed to determine the duration of e cacy.…”