Comparison of the effect of additives during Gliding Arc plasma treatment on the germination of bunt spores and growth characteristics of wheat

Abstract

The gliding arc cold plasma treatment of wheat seeds is an alternative to chemical seed dressing, but this treatment is not very effective. This study was focused on testing the addition of salt, water and nitrogenous compounds during plasma treatment to increase the efficiency of the plasma seed treatment. The additives were not supplied in the gaseous state, as usual, but in an aqueous solution by spraying under a plasma nozzle during the treatment. The phytosanitary effect of the plasma treatment was evaluated based on the germination of Tilletia caries spores from artificially infected seeds on water agar. The viability of the seeds, growth and yield characteristics of the plasma-treated seeds were evaluated in the laboratory, greenhouse and even in field experiments with the primary goal of reducing spore vitality. The germination of T. caries spores was mostly limited to the variant with the addition of water during plasma treatment, where spore germination reached only 32.7% of the control variant while maintaining sufficient growth properties. The experiment demonstrated the suitability of using the addition of various substances during plasma treatment in the form of aqueous solutions and increasing the effectiveness of this treatment.

Keywords

• cold plasma
• gliding arc
• physical seed treatment
• tilletia spores
• seed emergence
• plant development and yield