Physiological Responses of Young Pea and Barley Seedlings to Plasma-Activated Water

Abstract

This study demonstrates the indirect effects of non-thermal ambient air plasmas (NTP) on seed germination and plant growth. It investigates the effect of plasma-activated water (PAW) on 3-day-old seedlings of two important farm plants—barley and pea. Applying different types of PAW on pea seedlings exhibited stimulation of amylase activity and had no inhibition of seed germination, total protein concentration or protease activity. Moreover, PAW caused no or only moderate oxidative stress that was in most cases effectively alleviated by antioxidant enzymes and proved by in situ visualization of H2O2 and ˙O2−. In pea seedlings, we observed a faster turn-over from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism proved by inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. Additionally, reactive oxygen/nitrogen species contained in PAW did not affect the DNA integrity. On the other hand, the high level of DNA damage in barley together with the reduced root and shoot length and amylase activity was attributed to the oxidative stress caused by PAW, which was exhibited by the enhanced activity of guaiacol peroxidase or ADH. Our results show the glow discharge PAW at 1 min activation time as the most promising for pea. However, determining the beneficial type of PAW for barley requires further investigation.

Enhancement of the Plant Grafting Technique with Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cold Atmospheric Plasma and Plasma-Treated Solution

“…As well as low- and high-voltage electrical discharge [ 40 , 41 ], pulsed magnetic field [ 42 ], and UV-A rays [ 43 ], CAP technology has shown many advantages in the agriculture sector [ 44 , 45 ]. Deferent plasma generation methods and setups have been presented and have also shown that plasma-treated solutions can be used along with CAP sources for “indirect” treatment [ 46 , 47 ]. The influence of plasma treatment on DNA damage, gene expression, enzymatic activity, morphological and chemical changes, germination, and resistance to stress is under research [ 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Using Plasma-Activated Water Generated by an Air Gliding Arc as a Nitrogen Source for Rice Seed Germination

“…These changes result from the effects of plasma activation [7,10,17]. The application of PAW in agriculture has arisen with various uses such as seed treatment [18][19][20][21], crop growth improvement [11,[22][23][24][25], and disease management [26][27][28]. In the plant growth process, the uptake of N 2 in the form of NO 3 − or NH 4 + is facilitated by the transport of specific proteins to the cell plasma membrane.…”

Effects of Non-Thermal Plasma Treatment on Plant Physiological and Biochemical Processes

“…The application of NTP in agriculture includes both direct and indirect means of NTP treatment. A quantity of published data demonstrate mechanisms of direct interactions between plasma and plant material [17]. Indirect NTP treatments are used less often, it is usually the application of plasma-activated water (PAW) to the plant [18,19].…”

“…The work of Kostolani et al [17] aimed to investigate the effect of PAW on threeday-old pea (Pisum sativum cv. Eso) and barley (Hordeum vulgare cv.…”

“…The authors found that PAW generated by glow discharge could have a positive effect on most of the measured parameters. They concluded that the concentrations of stable reactive oxygen-nitrogen species in PAW, favorable for accelerating the transition to aerobic metabolism in the pea, may not be suitable for different plant species, such as barley [17]. The authors suggest that the response to treatment depends not only on PAW but also on the plant species.…”