OICC Press Journal of Theoretical and Applied Physics 2251-7235 14 2 2023 11 17 Seed priming with cold plasma improved early growth, flowering, and protection of Cichorium intybus against selenium nanoparticle 10.1007/s40094-020-00371-8 EN Sara Abedi Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Alireza Iranbakhsh Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Zahra Oraghi Ardebili Department of Biology, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran Mostafa Ebadi Department of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran Journal Article 2023 11 17 AbstractPlasma as a rapidly evolving technology has been succeeded to widely exploit in various industrial fields. We attempt to address the short- and long-time effects of seed priming with cold plasma in Cichorium intybus. The seeds were subjected to plasma (dielectric barrier discharge). The post-reactions of the plasma-primed seedlings were monitored in response to different concentrations (0, 2, and 10 mgl−1) of selenium nanoparticle (nSe). The plasma treatments enhanced seedling early growth in both shoot and roots. Besides, the simultaneous treatments of nSe of 2 mgl−1 and plasma synergistically improved seedling growth (mean = 78%). The plasma treatments mitigated the nSe10-associated phytotoxicity. The plasma and/or nSe treatments induced the enzyme activities of catalase (mean = 35%) and peroxidase (mean = 30%). In a complementary experiment, the long-time effects of plasma priming were monitored in plants grown under soil condition. The seed priming with cold plasma led to significant increases in shoot fresh mass (mean = 32%) and root biomass (mean = 26.8%). Moreover, the plasma-primed seedlings produced higher numbers of flowers (mean = 41.5%) and enhanced flower fresh weights (mean = 24%). The findings underline this hypothesis that exposure to plasma may associate with the activation of plant defense machinery and long-time modification in plant growth and development.