New Physicochemical Treatment Method of Poppy Seeds for Agriculture and Food Industries

Poppy seeds (Papaver somniferum L.) are often attacked by various fungal diseases, and their field germination rate is low. The aim of this experiment was to increase the germination rate and growth of seedlings by modifying the poppy seeds using cold plasma discharge. The seeds were treated in a Plasonic AR-550-M under power of 500 W with argon gas flow of 50 mL/min, oxygen gas flow of 50 mL/min for different time durations in seconds (0, 180, 300, 600, 1800, 3000, 4200, and 5400). The seed germination rate and growth of the seedlings were recorded. Cold plasma positively affected the seed germination rate for time exposure between 180∼3000 s. Seedling acceleration on the sixth day of the experiment showed the highest values at exposure 180∼600 s. Cold plasma seems to be a good physicochemical way to modify seeds without chemical agronomical application.