STUDYING THE INFLUENCE OF A HOMOGENEOUS ELECTRIC FIELD ON THE QUALITY OF CUCUMBER SEEDS

Abstract

Ncreasing yields, including vegetable products, is the most important task of agricultural production. The solution of this problem is connected with seed production. (Research purpose) The research purpose is studying the influence of the parameters of a homogeneous electric field, the duration of processing and subsequent binning on the quality of cucumber seeds during their pre-sowing treatment. (Materials and methods) Cucumber seeds of the Phoenix Plus variety were used. Pre-sowing treatment of seeds was carried out with a homogenous alternating electric field of industrial frequency with a vorticity of 0.5 kilovolts per centimeter on a laboratory installation with an exposure time of 20, 40 and 60 seconds; the time interval between processing seeds and binning them for germination was from one to nine days. (Results and discussion) The germination energy and germination rate of the seeds that were exposed were higher than in the control sample, regardless of the treatment parameters during the nine days of binning. In seeds that had been binned from one to four days after treatment, the length of the sprouts is lower than in the control sample. All the treated seeds, which were binned from five to nine days, have a length of sprouts longer than in the control sample. The length of the roots is lower from the control sample only in seeds with an exposition of 20 seconds that were in the first two days, in other cases it is higher. (Conclusions) The treatment of cucumber seeds with a homogenous alternating electric field with a voltage of 0.5 kilovolts per centimeter is effective. The best results were obtained when stimulating the seed material at an exposure of 40 seconds: the seed germination energy is 16 percent higher, germination rate is 12 percent, the average length of the sprouts is 3.3 times longer, and the average length of the roots is 2.7 times longer compared to the control sample. The maximum improvement in seed quality was observed after five days of laying.