Response of lettuce seeds undergoing dormancy break and early senescence to plasma irradiation

Abstract

This study reports the response of lettuce seeds undergoing dormancy breaking and early senescence to DBD plasma irradiation. A heat map of germination percentages at 12 hours revealed that the dormancy breaks by 39 days of storage and a 1-min plasma irradiation enhances germination for dormant seeds. Plasma irradiation does not affect already dormancy-broken seeds. Early senescence by storage was estimated by ESR measurements and molecular modification of quercetin. This study revealed that lettuce seed susceptibility to plasma irradiation depends on storage time and conditions, with dormancy state as a critical variable modulating the impact of plasma irradiation.