Influence of plasma activated water on the growth and vitality of radish (<i>Raphanus sativus</i> L.)

Abstract In this study, plasma activated water (PAW) was prepared by a pin-hole discharge, generating plasma directly in liquids with air flowing into the discharge. Radish ( Raphanus sativus ) plants were grown in pots filled with soil for 30 d. Pots were divided to 4 variants based on the PAW application: PAW prepared from distilled water (PAW DW), PAW prepared from tap water (PAW TW), foliar application of PAW on leaves and irrigated by TW (TW/PAW DW) and control group irrigated by TW. Results have indicated enhancement of the growth of the plant fresh matter in all variants treated by PAW. Vitality of the plants was determined by chlorophyll fluorescence. Fluorescence measurement results have shown inhibition of photosynthesis activity in case of plants treated with PAW compared to control group (TW), which means the treatment of plants with PAW lowers the overall vitality. Elemental analysis results showed that the PAW treatment of plants increased the content of nitrogen in the root part of the radish plants. The sensory evaluation showed that the PAW treatment influenced a certain taste and aesthetic characteristics of R. sativus . Overall, the foliar application of PAW seems to be more convenient option as a plant fertilizer compared to the soil irrigation.