10.57647/jtap.2026.2004.08

Effects of Direct and Indirect Cold Plasma Treatments on Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

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  • Samira Tajiknezhad*1,
  • Ameneh Kargarian2,
  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran
  2. Plasma and Fusion Research School, Nuclear and Science Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-11-08

Revised: 2025-12-25

Accepted: 2026-04-09

Published in Issue 2026-04-20

Copyright (c) 2026 Samira Tajiknezhad, Ameneh Kargarian (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

1.
Tajiknezhad S, Kargarian A. Effects of Direct and Indirect Cold Plasma Treatments on Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Seed Germination and Seedling Growth. J Theor Appl phys. 2026 Apr. 20;. Available from: https://oiccpress.com/jtap/article/view/18822
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Abstract

This study presents a comparative evaluation of direct and indirect cold plasma treatments on seed germination and seedling growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Sahra). Direct treatments was performed using low-pressure nitrogen glow discharge under ion-dominant (P1) and electron-dominant (P2) conditions, while indirect treatments employed plasma-activated water (PAW) generated via atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in deionized (PAW1) and tap water (PAW2). Germination rate, seedling vigor index, and early growth parameters were assessed under controlled conditions. The ion-dominant plasma treatment (P1) showed the highest germination rate (93.3%) and seedling vigor index (7082.0), outperforming PAW1 (79.7%), PAW2 (73.3%), and control (72.0%). In contrast, electron-dominant treatment (P2) reduced germination (60.3%), demonstrating the crucial role of plasma species composition in biological responses. The enhanced efficacy of PAW was associated with its physicochemical properties, particularly a reduced pH (3.42) and increased conductivity (174 µS/cm for PAW1, 1281 µS/cm for PAW2), which may facilitate the stabilization of reactive nitrogen species and improve seed coat permeability. Optical emission spectroscopy and water contact angle measurements supported plasma-induced surface hydrophilization and the presence of excited nitrogen species under ion-dominant conditions. These findings establish ion-dominant nitrogen cold plasma as an effective, chemical-free seed priming strategy and emphasize the importance of plasma regime control in optimizing sustainable agricultural applications.

Keywords

  • Barley,
  • Cold Plasma,
  • Glow Discharge,
  • Plasma-Activated Water,
  • Seed Priming,
  • Sustainable Agriculture
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