Effect of electrostatic field on germination of primed and unprimed soybean seeds

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the influence of electrostatic field on the quality parameter of unprimed and primed soybean seeds. The experiment was conducted at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad on soybean seeds of NS Blackstar variety. Seeds were exposed to different values of electrical voltage: 0 V (control), 3 V, 6 V and 9 V. Before exposure, the seeds were primed in water for 0, 1, 2 and 3 hours. Results of the conducted experiment showed that the influence of the electrostatic field on the unprimed soybean seeds depended on the strength of applied electrical voltage to conducting electrodes. By applying electrical voltage of 6 V to conducting electrodes, germination energy was increased by 10%, while germination was increased by 5% compared to control. However, the application of electrical voltage of 3 V and 9 V, showed that germination energy was significantly decreased, 19% and 21%, respectively. On primed soybean seeds, the use of electrostatic field led to a significant reduction in seed quality, regardless of the time of primed. The results also showed that the treatment that significantly increased the germination energy and germination of unprimed seeds, was treatment with applied electrical voltage of 6 V. This treatment had a significant effect on the germination rate parameter, but only on MGT and T50. In other treatments, applied electrical voltage did not affect or prolong the time of seed germination.