Germination Improvement of Three Pine Species (Pinus) After Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge Plasma Treatment

Seed modification by atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma treatment was tested on pine species. The Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) with expose times of 0 s, 1 s, 3 s, 5 s, 10 s, 30 s, 60 s was used on seed treatment of Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra and Pinus mugo. The effect of plasma treatment on the chemical bonds on the seed surface was studied using the Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Characteristics of seed germination and early growth were measured. ATR-FTIR surface diagnostics did not show any damage. Changes in the peak intensities indicated the presence of oxygen and nitrogen-containing groups, or a reduction of the lipid layer on the surface. Various statistically significant effects of the three species of seeds treated with DCSBD treatment were recorded. No significant differences were found between control sample and plasma treated ones, but some positive trends were obtained. Positive trends were recorded in germinated and growing seeds of all three species mainly after 3 s exposures. Exposure times from 10 s had an inhibitory effect. Based on the results obtained, it can be recommended that forest nurseries performance of nonthermal plasma modification of seeds should be evaluated to measure the durability of the observed growth characteristics.