CC BY
11LD-I-9
Laser photoacoustic detection of ethylene emission during germination and early seedling development of tomato seeds stimulated by non-thermal plasma
C.E. Matei1, M. Monica2
1National Institute for Laser- Plasma and Radiation Physics, Laser Department, Magurele, Romania
2National Institute for Laser- Plasma and Radiation Physics, Department of Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion, Magurele, Romania
The sustainability chain in agriculture and environment requires today efficient technologies that enhance productivity and ensure the high quality of the crops, protecting in the same time the environment by reducing waste and chemical pollution. One of the clean alternative to enhance the quality of the seeding material is the treatment of the seeds by the means of non-thermal plasma, method that has been proved in different studies to increase the germination rate, vigor and nutrient absorption.
There is a large palette of characterization methods for monitoring the seed germination and the subsequently growth processes, but until today to our knowledge is unknown any study based on the quantification of the ethylene emission during these early stages applied to plasma treated seeds.
We exposed tomato seeds (Lycopersicon esculentum hybrid Belle F1 from Seminis company) to plasma generated in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure, with high air flow, so that the seeds were held in suspension within the discharge zone, at a reduced average power (0.55-1.43W). The expected advantage of this fluidized bed reactor is the more uniform treatment of the seeds due to their continuous movement in the plasma region.
After the exposure, the seeds were germinated in controlled conditions and we used a sensitive CO2 laser photoacoustic spectroscopic instrument to measure the low levels (ppb) of the ethylene concentration emmited over several days starting with the germination moment. In our paper we shall present the obtained data for different patches of treated seeds, as well the correlation with the known growth parameters, i.e. average length of roots (MRL) and sprouts (MSL).
Acknowledgements: This work has been financially supported by the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0152 and the Ministry of Research and Innovation, Program Nucleu -LAPLAS V/2018.
