Implementation of a Non-Thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma for Eradication of Plant Pathogens from a Surface of Economically Important Seeds

Plant pathogenic bacteria cause significant economic losses in the global food production sector. To secure an adequate amount of high-quality nutrition for the growing human population, novel approaches need to be undertaken to combat plant disease-causing agents. As the currently available methods to eliminate bacterial phytopathogens are scarce, we evaluated the effectiveness and mechanism of action of a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP). It was ignited from a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operation in a plasma pencil, and applied for the first time for eradication of Dickeya and Pectobacterium spp., inoculated either on glass spheres or mung bean seeds. Furthermore, the impact of the DBD exposure on mung bean seeds germination and seedlings growth was estimated. The observed bacterial inactivation rates exceeded 3.07 logs. The two-minute DBD exposure stimulated by 3–4% the germination rate of mung bean seeds and by 13.4% subsequent early growth of the seedlings. On the contrary, a detrimental action of the four-minute DBD subjection on seed germination and early growth of the sprouts was noted shortly after the treatment. However, this effect was no longer observed or reduced to 9.7% after the 96 h incubation period. Due to the application of optical emission spectrometry (OES), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), we found that the generated reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), i.e., N(2), N(2)(+), NO, OH, NH, and O, probably led to the denaturation and aggregation of DNA, proteins, and ribosomes. Furthermore, the cellular membrane disrupted, leading to an outflow of the cytoplasm from the DBD-exposed cells. This study suggests the potential applicability of NTAPPs as eco-friendly and innovative plant protection methods.