Improvement of Honeydew Seed Germination Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Planar (DBDP) Cold Plasma

Cold plasma treatment has been widely applied to enhance the growth of plants, especially for research purposes. Due to its significant advantage of not using chemicals, the potential of using cold plasma in the agricultural sector has been proven to cause no harm to crops, humans, or the environment. This study is conducted to investigate the effectiveness of dielectric barrier discharge planar (DBDP) cold plasma treatment on seed germination and water absorption of honeydew seeds. The treatment was carried out using an air compressor with a flow rate of 100 sccm with a constant applied peak to peak voltage of 3.5 kV. The honeydew seed samples were then exposed to various treatment times (0, 120 sec, 150 sec, 180 sec, 210 sec, and 240 sec). For treatment analysis, the length of root and shoot for each seed was recorded on a daily basis for seven days. The contact angle was also measured to determine its hydrophilicity. The data obtained show that honeydew seeds treated with DBD cold plasma has 105.63% difference increment in seed germination and 59.20% different increment of water absorption.