Plasma-Activated Seed Germination

Dear Colleagues,

Seed germination is a complex physiological process that begins with water uptake by the seed (imbibition) and ends with the emergence of the radicle. Both the seed surface characteristics (e.g., specific morphology, structure, or composition) and its surrounding environment (moisture content, temperature, etc.) are known to influence the kinetics and amount of water uptake by the seeds. Therefore, the modification of seed surface properties related to the seed–medium interaction (e.g., hydrophilicity, oxygen permeability) is a useful method that can be employed to control seed germination. At present, the non-thermal plasma surface activation of seeds is increasingly being explored in the agricultural field as an effective pre-sowing treatment modulating seed germination, with an added advantage of providing a certain degree of sterilization against endospores or fungi. However, different aspects concerning the plasma activation of seeds in germination remain poorly understood, and the germination behavior seems not to be univocal. Additionally, although in most cases a positive seed germination effect has been obtained, in some cases the germination rate remains unaffected or even decreases. Therefore, further studies aimed at elucidating the mechanism involved in the germination of plasma-activated seeds are required. This Special Issue calls for original articles and reviews investigating these interesting aspects involved in the germination of plasma-treated seeds, such as seed surface characteristics (seed structure, morphology, or composition), the influence of irrigation conditions, the effect of time elapsed after the plasma treatment, storage conditions (e.g., R.H., temperature), possible genetic damage occurring as a consequence of plasma treatment, plant growth behavior, and studies in future generations of plants.

Dr. Ricardo Molina
Guest Editor

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