Effects of non?thermal plasmas on seed-borne Diaporthe/Phomopsis complex and germination parameters of soybean seeds

PEREZ PIZÁ CECILIA; PREVOSTO L; ZILLI CG; CEJAS E; KELLY H; BALESTRASSE KB

INNOVATIVE FOOD SCIENCE & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2018

1466-8564

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is one of the most important crops worldwide. Diaporthe/Phomopsis (D/P) is a complex of seed borne fungi that severely affects soybean seed quality. Considering that seed quality guarantees plant growth, development and crop yield in the field, the reduction of seed borne pathogens before sowing is of great interest. Non-thermal plasma treatment is a fast, economic and ecological friendly technology, and it can improve the vitality of seeds. Soybean seeds were exposed to a quasi-stationary (50 Hz) dielectric barrier discharge plasma operating at atmospheric pressure air. Different carrying gases (O2 and N2) and barrier insulating materials were used. In this work we focus on the ability of plasma to control D/P in soybean seeds and to enhance seed quality. To support these results, different antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation and phytohormones levels in seeds were evaluated. The results demonstrated an activation of the antioxidant defenses reversing the oxidative damage caused by D/P fungi. This eco-friendly technology improved soybean seed quality and, for the first time, its efficiency in controlling soybean seed-borne pathogen fungi that colonize the inside of seeds was demonstrated.