<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Chemicals used for seed treatments help to increase the agricultural production by preventing pests and pathogens but also cause environmental and health problems. Thus, environmentally-friendly technologies need to be developed for a seed treatment that inactivates surface microflora and improves seed vigor. One such pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment applied to cucumber seeds in the range of 1.07-17.28 Joule (J) significantly enhanced a mean germination rate (MGR) by up to 9%, a normal seedling rate by 25.73%, and a resistance to 100 and 200 mM salt stresses by 96% and 91.67%, respectively, with a stronger and faster growth of roots and seedlings. PEF treatment provided 3.34 and 3.22 log-reductions in the surface microflora of total mold and yeast and total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, respectively. The electrical conductivity (EC) values of the control samples increased over time, from 4 to 24 h. Those of the PEF-treated samples after 4, 12, and 24th hours were also more affected by the measurement time not by the PEF treatment.
The joint optimization of 18 responses based on the best-fit Gaussian process model pointed to 19.78 s and 17.28 J as the optimal settings. The PEF treatment appeared to improve seed germination ability and stress resistance with the adequate inactivation of surface microflora.</abstract>

Chemicals used for seed treatments help to increase the agricultural production by preventing pests and pathogens but also cause environmental and health problems. Thus, environmentally-friendly technologies need to be developed for a seed treatment that inactivates surface microflora and improves seed vigor. One such pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment applied to cucumber seeds in the range of 1.07-17.28 Joule (J) significantly enhanced a mean germination rate (MGR) by up to 9%, a normal seedling rate by 25.73%, and a resistance to 100 and 200 mM salt stresses by 96% and 91.67%, respectively, with a stronger and faster growth of roots and seedlings. PEF treatment provided 3.34 and 3.22 log-reductions in the surface microflora of total mold and yeast and total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, respectively. The electrical conductivity (EC) values of the control samples increased over time, from 4 to 24 h. Those of the PEF-treated samples after 4, 12, and 24th hours were also more affected by the measurement time not by the PEF treatment.
The joint optimization of 18 responses based on the best-fit Gaussian process model pointed to 19.78 s and 17.28 J as the optimal settings. The PEF treatment appeared to improve seed germination ability and stress resistance with the adequate inactivation of surface microflora.

Unrevealing the impact of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on cucumber seed vigour and surface disinfection

The EuroBiotech Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Chemicals used for seed treatments help to increase the agricultural production by preventing pests and pathogens but also cause environmental and health...

Unrevealing the impact of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on cucumber seed vigour and surface disinfection

Article Category: Research article

Published Online: Oct 21, 2021

Page range: 180 - 193

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebtj-2021-0027

Keywords
Cucumber seeds, Pulsed electric fields, Germination, Seed vigour, Stress tolerance

© 2021 Bahar Atmaca, Gulsun Akdemir Evrendilek, Nurullah Bulut, and Sibel Uzuner, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unrevealing the impact of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on cucumber seed vigour and surface disinfection

Article Category: Research article

Published Online: Oct 21, 2021

Page range: 180 - 193

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebtj-2021-0027

KeywordsCucumber seeds, Pulsed electric fields, Germination, Seed vigour, Stress tolerance

© 2021 Bahar Atmaca, Gulsun Akdemir Evrendilek, Nurullah Bulut, and Sibel Uzuner, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Cucumber seeds, Pulsed electric fields, Germination, Seed vigour, Stress tolerance