Presowing Winter Wheat Seed Treatment in the Pulsed Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Field

Abstract

The results from studying indirect treatment of winter wheat seeds in the field of pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD), as well as their treatment in a pulsed electric field (PEF) in different treatment modes and with different treatment duration are presented. The applied pulsed voltage source had capabilities to dose the grain treatment energy by setting the exact number of pulses applied to the electrode system. A weak stimulating effect of SDBD and PEF treatments on individual plant indicators in different modes is shown. A comparison of the seed root length to sprout length ratio by the third day of seed germination demonstrates the best ratio for the PEF mode with a treatment duration of 6.67 s and 0.7 s for SDBD. The newly obtained treatment results are compared with those obtained earlier under the grain treatment conditions in a similar electrode system with a sinusoidal voltage. The comparison results suggest that for achieving better efficiency of combined treatment by electric field and discharge products, a certain ratio of SDBD energy (its intensity) and electric field energy in the gap with the seeds must be kept. To this end, it is necessary to find the optimal parameters of the applied voltage that will ensure the maximum treatment efficiency both in terms of plant germination and minimizing the energy consumption.