Plasma Accelerated Seed Germination for Indoor Space Agriculture

Space agriculture faces several challenges, including the absence of sunlight, bacterial contamination, and delayed germination. Seed dormancy often prevents germination, requiring exposure to stress to activate the process. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma has proven effective for this purpose. In this study, a DBD plasma helium jet was operated at 6-10 kV and 40-60 kHz. Tomato and cucumber seeds were exposed to plasma treatment and compared to an untreated control group to assess its impact. Plant growth was monitored over time under identical environmental conditions. Measurements indicated that plasma treatment accelerated seed germination by a few days for both plant species. The growth rates of treated seeds were significantly higher than untreated ones. For tomato plants, treated seeds germinated 2-3 days earlier and grew 2-4 inches taller. In cucumbers, the difference was even more pronounced, with treated seeds sprouting 5-6 days earlier and growing 4-5 inches taller. Additional experiments were conducted in an incubator, where seeds were placed in petri dishes under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. Preliminary results support the hypothesis that plasma exposure enhances germination speed compared to untreated samples. Ongoing research is investigating the effects of different plasma exposure durations and incubator conditions to further validate these findings.