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Quad-atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (q-APPJ) Treatment of Chilli Seeds to Stimulate Germination

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Abstract

In the current study, a square assembly of four quad-atmospheric pressure plasma jets (q-APPJ) is used to treat large-sized chilli seeds simultaneously. Germination and growth characteristics improve significantly after a 10-sec treatment of q-APPJ employing argon as the working gas. Plasma-treated chilli seed is more etched and porous than those untreated seed surface, as shown in scanning electron microscopy. The chemical changes of the plasma-treated seeds showed that the Ar plasma-treatment oxidise the seed surface to enhance their wettability, stimulate the water uptake, increase the water electrical conductivity and result in improved seed germination. In addition, optical emission spectroscopy is used to detect the different plasma species present and evaluate their plasma parameters (electron temperature and density). These positive results suggested that Ar plasma-treatment, in APPJ setup, improve seed germination, and potentially improve crop yield, and food security issues.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Malaysia Ministry of Education grant no FRGS-1-2019-STG07-UKM/02/9. AP is grateful for the financial support from PRECISE LTU.

Funding

This research was funded by Malaysia Ministry of Education grant no: FRGS-1-2019-STG07-UKM/02/9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics (IMEN), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM, Bangi, 43600, Selangor, Malaysia

    Naeem Ahmed, Asad Masood, M. F. Mohd Razip Wee & Kim S. Siow

  2. Molecular Electrochemistry Laboratory, Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China

    Naeem Ahmed

  3. Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Rubab Mumtaz

  4. Petroliam Nasional Berhad, PETRONAS Twin Towers, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, 50088, Malaysia

    Kok Meng Chan

  5. Chemistry of Interfaces Group, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, 97187, Sweden

    Anuttam Patra

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  1. Naeem Ahmed
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Contributions

NA, A.M. and RM wrote the main manuscript text; NA and AM prepared the figures; KSS, AP, MFWRW and KMC revised and edited the manuscript, KSS and NA project managed this research. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kim S. Siow.

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Ahmed, N., Masood, A., Mumtaz, R. et al. Quad-atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (q-APPJ) Treatment of Chilli Seeds to Stimulate Germination. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 44, 509–522 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-023-10436-6

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