Improving wheat seed germination using plasma treatments

Wheat is one of the most important crops globally, but its seeds can often struggle in temperate climates. Spring wheat is typically planted in March or April, where temperatures often hover a few degrees above freezing, not high enough to jolt the seeds out of their dormant state. Increasing yields requires an intervention to cause them to germinate sooner and more reliably.

Choe et al. employed gliding arc discharge (GAD) plasma treatment to improve wheat seed germination, looking to boost yields in temperate regions.

Plasma treatment improves the water uptake of seeds, introduces reactive nitrogen species, and disinfects surfaces, all of which can improve seed germination. However, high plasma temperatures and high concentrations of reactive oxygen species are detrimental to seed germination. These factors led the authors to select GAD plasma treatment to maximize the beneficial effects while minimizing the negative elements.

“We directly treated wheat seeds with GAD plasma by varying its power, the treatment time, and the distance between plasma flame and seed surface,” said author Hak-Chol Choe. “The treated wheat seeds showed positive results in all aspects of surface modification, water contact angle change, component change and seed germination.”

The authors plan to further test this method by varying the test parameters to explore the quantitative relationship between power, treatment time, and reactive ion production with the effects on germination.

“In the work of seed treatment by GAD plasma, it is important to find the optimal parameters, including the optimal treatment conditions and the minimization of the treatment time,” said author Yong-Jun Kim. “In future studies, we will investigate the correlation between the GAD plasma characteristics and the seed treatment effect.”

Source: “Gliding arc discharge plasma treatment for promoting germination of wheat seed at low ambient temperature,” by Hak-Chol Choe, Song-Ha Ri, Jong-Pom Kim, In-Su Ri, Se-Chol Pak, and Yong-Jun Kim, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology: A (2025). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0004084 .