Promoting lentil germination and stem growth by plasma activated tap water, demineralized water and liquid fertilizer

Shiqiang Zhang (1) , Antoine Rousseau (1) , Thierry Dufour (1, 2)

1 LPP - Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas
2 SU - Sorbonne Université

Tap water, demineralized water and liquid fertilizer have been activated using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to investigate their benefits for the germination rate and stem elongation rate of lentils from Puy-en-Velay (France). By plasma-activating tap water, we have obtained germination rates as high as 80% (instead of 30% with tap water). Also, higher stem elongation rates and final stem lengths were obtained using activated tap water compared with commercial fertilizer. We show that these rates of germination and stem growth strongly depend on the combination of two radicals generated in the liquids by the plasma: hydrogen peroxide and nitrate. This synergy appears to be a condition for releasing seed dormancy through the endogenous production of NO radicals.

Mots clés: plasma jet; lentils germination; germination rate; plasma agriculture

Domaines: Physique des plasmas [physics.plasm-ph]; Ingénierie de l'environnement; Biotechnologies; Chimie analytique; Botanique

Shiqiang Zhang, Antoine Rousseau, Thierry Dufour. Promoting lentil germination and stem growth by plasma activated tap water, demineralized water and liquid fertilizer. RSC Advances, 2017, 7 (50), pp.31244-31251. ⟨10.1039/C7RA04663D⟩. ⟨hal-01568041⟩