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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Atmospheric plasma exposure strengthens germination, seedling vigour and enzymatic activity for improved wheat establishment

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13901
Submitted
29 January 2026
Published
30-08-2026

Abstract

Atmospheric plasma treatment markedly improved germination, early growth and biochemical activation in three wheat varieties (UP 2565, UP 2425, UP 2338) compared with hydropriming and untreated control. Plasma increased final germination from 91–92 % (control) to 94.7–96.0 %, translating into more reliable crop establishment. Emergence speed rose from 16.8–17.3 to 20.3–20.9 seedlings·day-1 and shorten germination indicating faster and more uniform seedling emergence. The increase in seedling length dry weight by 18 % over control reflect stronger early growth and establishment potential. Vigour indices were substantially higher, underscoring the capacity of plasma treatment to produce robust seedlings capable of better field performance. Biochemically, plasma-treated seeds showed lower electrical conductivity, signifying improved membrane integrity, alongside higher dehydrogenase activity and greater α-amylase activity, which support rapid reserve mobilisation. Correlation analysis confirmed that superior germination and vigour were strongly associated with elevated enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, r = 0.93; α-amylase 24 hr r = 0.99) and inversely with electrical conductivity (EC) and mean germination time (MGT). These results demonstrate that plasma treated seeds by strengthening physiological processes critical for early establishment, offering a promising, scalable dry seed treatment to enhance wheat productivity pending optimisation of dosimetry and validation under field conditions.

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