Preconditioning maize seeds in ozonated water improves initial development of seedlings

In this study, researchers at the University of Brasilia evaluated the physiological and sanitary quality of maize seeds preconditioned in ozonated water. Their findings were published in the journal Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental.

• Controlled hydration of seeds is a method of physiological conditioning used to improve seed performance in the field.
• Aeration using ozone gas is a promising option when it comes to controlling plant pathogens.
• For their study, the researchers exposed maize seeds to different concentrations of ozone gas (0, 10, 20 and 30 mg/L) for five soaking periods (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min) and with four replicates.
• They found that preconditioning maize seeds in ozonated water, followed by natural drying, resulted in more pronounced initial development of seedlings.
• Maize seeds exposed to pure water and ozonated water (30 mg/L ozone) for 60 to 90 minutes had better initial development of seedlings.
• The researchers said that controlled presoaking induced a prolonged capacity for protein synthesis, which promoted a more favorable metabolic balance that supported seedling growth and biomass accumulation.
• On the other hand, exposure to 30 mg/L ozone for up to 120 minutes did not have any effect on germination.
• Preconditioning in ozonated water also did not help control the growth of Fusarium sp. in the seeds.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that controlled presoaking of seeds in ozonated water stimulates the initial development of seedlings.

Read the full article at this link.

Journal Reference:

Maximiano CV, Carmona R, Souza NOS, Alencar ERD, Blum LEB. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND SANITARY QUALITY OF MAIZE SEEDS PRECONDITIONED IN OZONATED WATER. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental. 2018;22(5):360–365. DOI: 10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v22n5p360-365