Inactivation of Surface-Borne Microorganisms and Increased Germination of Seed Specimen by Cold Atmospheric Plasma

Sustaining the quality of seeds is a major task in attempting to supply nutrition to the growing world population. In this study, the seeds of Cicer arietinum were exposed to cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). A significant reduction of the natural microbiota attached to the seed surface was observed for increasing CAP treatment times—2 and 5 min were sufficient to achieve a 1 and 2 log reductions, respectively. Furthermore a 1 min CAP treatment showed a strongly improved seed germination (89.2 %), speed of germination (7.1 ± 0.1 seeds/day), and increased seed vigor, beside a decrease in the mean germination time (2.7 days) compared with controls. The roughness profile of the seed cotyledon was altered significantly, only in case of longer treatment times from 5 min. These results suggest that CAP technology has the potentiality to reduce health risks associated with contaminated seeds, while improving food quality.