Sriruksa Chanyanuch, Sawangrat Choncharoen, Sansongsiri Sakon, Boonyawan Dheerawan, Thanapornpoonpong Sa-Nguansak
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Jun 24;14(13):1938. doi: 10.3390/plants14131938.
This study investigated the response of pepper seeds with varying seed coat conditions (SCs) to dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment (PT). The experimental design was a split plot with three replications. The primary plot factor was the SC (normal seeds [NMS], nicking at the hilum part [NHP], and removed seed coat [RSC]), while the subplot factor was the plasma exposure time (0.4-2.0 s/cm), including a control, to determine the effects on seed viability, germination, and vigor. The results indicate that NMS seeds exhibit the highest performance in terms of seed viability. The NMS and NHP had statistically significantly higher seed germination, electrical conductivity, radical emergence, and germination index at 14 days after sowing, and the shoot length measured longer than RSC. Plasma exposure at 1.2 s/cm improved germination and vigor, whereas 2.0 s/cm exposure significantly decreased seed viability and increased the number of abnormal seedlings. The interaction between SC and PT significantly affected seedling abnormalities, with RSC seeds being more vulnerable to damage under prolonged exposure. These findings highlight the crucial role of seed coat integrity in maintaining seed quality and suggest that carefully controlled PT can be a promising and sustainable method to enhance pepper seed performance.
本研究调查了不同种皮状况（SCs）的辣椒种子对介质阻挡放电等离子体处理（PT）的响应。实验设计为裂区设计，重复三次。主区因素是种皮状况（正常种子[NMS]、种脐处刻痕[NHP]和去除种皮[RSC]），而副区因素是等离子体暴露时间（0.4 - 2.0秒/厘米），包括一个对照，以确定对种子活力、发芽率和活力的影响。结果表明，就种子活力而言，NMS种子表现出最高性能。在播种后14天，NMS和NHP的种子发芽率、电导率、胚根出现率和发芽指数在统计学上显著更高，且苗长比RSC的更长。1.2秒/厘米的等离子体暴露提高了发芽率和活力，而2.0秒/厘米的暴露显著降低了种子活力并增加了异常幼苗的数量。种皮状况和等离子体处理之间的相互作用显著影响幼苗异常情况，长时间暴露下RSC种子更容易受到损害。这些发现突出了种皮完整性在维持种子质量中的关键作用，并表明精心控制的等离子体处理可以成为提高辣椒种子性能的一种有前景的可持续方法。
