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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (10): 129-140.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2022437

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Effects of dialectric barrier discharge plasma treatment on seed germination and physiological characteristics of Astragalus sinicus

Xiang LI1(), Meng ZHANG2, Chun-zeng LIU2, Yi-fei ZHU3, Xiao-xin YE1()   

  1. 1.School of Resources and Environmental Engineering,Anhui University,Hefei 230601,China
    2.Institute of Plant Nutrition,Agricultural Resource and Environmental Science,Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Zhengzhou 450002,China
    3.School of Aerospace Engineering,Air Force Engineering University,Xi’an 710038,China
  • Received:2022-11-03 Revised:2022-12-07 Online:2023-10-20 Published:2023-07-26
  • Contact: Xiao-xin YE

Abstract:

Poor seed germination and seedling performance when germinated in commonly encountered osmolyte concentrations are major constraints to expansion of Astragalus sinicus cultivation. The objective of this study was to test the potential use of an electrical discharge plasma treatment as a low-cost technology for sustainable A. sinicus cultivation. Two cultivars of A. sinicus (Ganzi 75-3-51 and Xinzi 1) were investigated in an indoor germination experiment in order to investigate the influences of various dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatments (7, 8 or 9 kV for 1, 3, 5 or 10 min) on A. sinicus seed germination, seedling growth, antioxidant enzyme activity and osmolyte concentrations. It was found that plasma treatments had no significant effects on the germination rate or germination potential of A. sinicus seed, but did raise the germination index and seed vigor index of both cultivars. Significant interactions between plasma and cultivar effects were observed for most traits indicating that the response patterns of the cultivars across the imposed plasma treatments were different. The growth of Ganzi 75-3-51 seedlings was promoted with lower-dose plasma treatment and inhibited with higher-dose plasma treatment. Xinzi 1 seedlings were sensitive to plasma treatment and high dose plasma treatment (9 kV with 10 min duration) significantly reduced the fresh weight of Xinzi 1 seedlings (the decrease, as compared with the controls was 20.5%). The activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase of Ganzi 75-3-51 tended to rise initially and then decline with increase in voltage and treatment time. The antioxidant enzyme activity of Xinzi 1 showed a trend of increase with increased exposure time in the low-voltage plasma treatment (7 kV), but wasn’t significantly changed by high-voltage plasma treatment. In addition, low dose plasma treatment enhanced the contents of soluble sugar and protein in seedlings of both A. sinicus cultivars. Though plasma treatment didn’t significantly affect the germination of tested A. sinicus cultivars in the current study, some plasma treatments did stimulate antioxidant enzyme activities, and promote starch and protein hydrolysis, thereby improving the seed vigor and growth of A. sinicus seedlings.

Key words: plasma, Astragalus sinicus, seed germination, physiological characteristics