Pre-sowing treatment of winter wheat seeds with a surface discharge: freezing tolerance

The seeds of soft winter wheat for long-term storage are treated with low-temperature plasma of a surface discharge according to an indirect method, i.e., without contact between a layer of immobile seeds and a surface discharge in a strip electrode system with a distance of 10 mm between strips. The seeds are treated with a surface discharge for 60 s in two modes of feeding the electrodes with a sinusoidal voltage (16 kHz/1.5 kV and 4.4 kHz/2.4 kV). The biometric parameters of seedlings on the third and seventh days, the resistance of cold hardened seedlings to low temperatures, and the degree of seed infection are measured. It is found that seed treatment does not provide an increase in the quality characteristics of germination and freezing tolerance and also does not reduce the seed infection under the condition of a high mycobiotic load.