Agronomy Science, przyrodniczy lublin, czasopisma up, czasopisma uniwersytet przyrodniczy lublin
Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Agronomy Science Baner text

Vol. 80 No. 4 (2025)

Articles

Preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of non-chemical methods of maize seed treatment

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/as.2025.5548
Submitted: August 13, 2025
Published: 31.12.2025

Abstract

Many plant diseases are transmitted through seeds. Thus, seed dressing is the first and most important protective measure. It promotes germination, increases seed vigour, improves rooting, and effectively controls pathogens. Due to the reduction of chemical plant protection products on the market, new products are being sought. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to preliminarily assess non-fungicidal methods that significantly reduce seed contamination before sprouting and do not affect germination rates and initial maize growth. The following non-fungicidal seed surface-sterilisation methods were tested: hypochlorous acid, sodium and calcium hypochlorite, peracetic acid and non-ionic nanosilver for 5, 10, 20 or 30 minutes of soaking. Dish and pot experiments were carried out. Among the tested treatments, hypochlorous acid and calcium hypochlorite were the most effective, resulting in the least seed contamination and the highest maize germination. These treatments also significantly enhanced plant height, root elongation and its fresh weight. However, the remaining treatment methods using sodium hypochlorite, peracetic acid and nanosilver were ineffective. Additionally, a pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of non-fungicide seed treatments. The positive effect of hypochlorous acid and calcium hypochlorite on germination capacity, plant growth and weight, as well as its physiological condition, was also confirmed.

References

  1. Al Salama Y., Alghoraibi I., Zein R. et al., 2025. Silver nanoparticles seed priming for sustainable enhancement of durum wheat growth, yield, and nutrient enrichment. Instit. Engineer. Technol. Nanobiotechnol. 1, 6152486. https://doi.org/10.1049/nbt2/6152486
  2. Bošnjak Mihovilović A., Kereša S., Lazarević B. et al., 2024. The use of sodium hypochlorite and plant preservative mixture significantly reduces seed-borne pathogen contamination when estab-lishing in vitro cultures of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds. Agriculture 14, 556. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14040556
  3. de Almeida Junior J.H.V., Brignoli F.M., Neto M.E. et al., 2024. Synthesis of silver and cobalt nanoparticles and assessment of their effects on Environ. Saf. 287, 117257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117257
  4. Dempsey A.H., Walker J.T., 1973. Efficacy of calcium and sodium hypochlorite for seed treatment of pepper. Hortscience 8(4), 328–329.
  5. Ding H., Fu T.J., Smith M.A., 2013. Microbial contamination in sprouts: how effective is seed disinfection treatment?. J. Food Sci. 78(4), R495–R501. https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.12064
  6. do Moraes Gatti V.C., da Silva Barata H., Silva V.F.A. et al., 2023. Influence of calcium on the development of corn plants grown in hydroponics. AgriEngineering 5, 623–630. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering5010039
  7. Gai Y., Wang H., 2024. Plant disease: a growing threat to global food security. Agronomy 14, 1615. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14081615
  8. Gandhi M., Matthews K.R., 2003. Efficacy of chlorine and calcinated calcium treatment of alfalfa seeds and sprouts to eliminate Salmonella. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 87, 301–306. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/S0168-1605(03)00108-9
  9. Gilbert G.S., Diaz A., Bregoff H.A., 2023. Seed disinfestation practices to control seed-borne fungi and bacteria in home production of sprouts. Foods 12, 747. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040747
  10. Goo S.G., Koo J., 2020. Establishment of rice bakanae disease management using slightly acidic hypochlorous acid water. J. Life Sci. 30(2), 178–185. https://doi.org/10.5352/JLS.2020.30.2.178
  11. Hesami M., Daneshvar M.H., Lotfi-Jalalabadi A., 2017. The effect of sodium hypochlorite on con-trol of in vitro contamination and seed germination of Ficus religiosa. Iran. J. Plant Physiol. 7(4), 2157–2162. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijpp.2017.537980
  12. Hong J.K., Baek J., Park S.R., Lee G.S. et al., 2023. A new protocol to mitigate damage to germina-tion caused by black layers in maize (Zea mays L.) seeds. Agriculture 13, 2147. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112147
  13. Hopkins D.L., Thompson C.M., Hilgren J. et al., 2003. Wet seed treatment with peroxyacetic acid for the control of bacterial fruit blotch and other seedborne diseases of watermelon. Plant Dis. 87(12), 1495–1499. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.2003.87.12.1495
  14. Kardava K., Tetz V., Vecherkovskaya M. et al., 2023. Seed dressing with M451 promotes seedling growth in wheat and reduces root phytopathogenic fungi without affecting endophytes. Front. Plant Sci. 14, 1176553. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1176553
  15. Khan S., Zahoor M., Khan R.S. et al., 2023. The impact of silver nanoparticles on the growth of plants: the agriculture applications. Heliyon 9, e16928. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.heliyon.2023.e16928
  16. Kim M.J., Manohar M., Dejonghe W. et al., 2025. Comparative efficacies of calcium hypochlorite and peroxyacetic acid treatments in inactivating Salmonella enterica on alfalfa seeds and sprouts. Appl. Food Res. 5, 100774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2025.100774
  17. Kowalska J., Łukaszyk J., 2022. Metody zaprawiania materiału siewnego dozwolone w rolnictwie ekologicznym. Prog. Plant Prot. 62, 100–108. https://doi.org/10.14199/ppp-2022-012
  18. Lee S.H.I., Cappato L.P., Corassin C.H. et al., 2016. Effect of peracetic acid on biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes isolated from dairy plants. J. Dairy Sci. 99, 2384-2390. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-10007
  19. Madruga F.B., Rossetti C., Saraiva C.R.C. et al., 2023. Seed treatment: importance of products and equipment. Colloq. Agrar. 19, 105–115. https://doi.org/10.5747/ca.2023.v19.h516
  20. Nazarov P.A., Baleev D.N., Ivanova M.I. et al., 2020. Infectious plant diseases: etiology, current status, problems and prospects in plant protection. Acta Naturae 12, 46–59. https://doi.org/10.32607/actanaturae.11026
  21. Rahman Md.S., Chakraborty A., Kibria A. et al., 2023. Effects of silver nanoparticles on seed ger-mination and growth performance of pea (Pisum sativum). Plant Nano Biol. 5, 100042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plana.2023.100042
  22. Rossini A., Ruggeri R., Rossini F., 2024. Discriminating among alternative dressing solutions for cereal seed treatment: effect on germination and seedling vigor of durum wheat. Int. J. Plant Bi-ol. 15, 230–241. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb15020019
  23. Saikumar A., Singh A., Kaur K. et al., 2023. Numerical optimization of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) treatment parameters and its effect on postharvest quality characteristics of tomatoes. J. Agric. Food Res. 14, 100762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100762
  24. Şehirli S., Karabulut O., İlhan K. et al., 2020. Use and efficiency of disinfectants within a hydrocool-er system for postharvest disease control in sweet cherry. Int. J. Fruit Sci. 20, S1590–S1606. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2020.1822265
  25. Surovy M.Z., Islam T., von Tiedemann A., 2023. Role of seed infection for the near and far distance dissemination of wheat blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum. Front. Mi-crobiol. 14, 1040605. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1040605
  26. Tobiasz-Salach R., Mazurek M., Jacek B., 2023. Physiological, biochemical, and epigenetic reaction of maize (Zea mays L.) to cultivation in conditions of varying soil salinity and foliar application of silicon. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 24, 1141. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021141
  27. Vines J.R.L, Jenkins P.D., Foyer C.H. et al., 2003. Physiological effects of peracetic acid on hydro-ponic tomato plants. Ann. Appl. Biol. 143(2), 153–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7348.2003.tb00281.x
  28. Wilson D.O., 1976. Evaluation of chemical seed coat sterilants. Plant Soil 44, 703–707.
  29. germination and biometric parameters in maize (Zea mays L.). Ecotoxicol.
  30. Yang X., Zhang Z., Yuan Y. et al., 2022. Control efficiency of hexaconazole-lentinan against wheat sharp eyespot and wheat crown rot and the associated effects on rhizosphere soil fungal com-munity. Front. Microbiol. 13, 1014969. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1014969
  31. Yildiz M., Ekiz H., 2014. The effect of sodium hypochlorite solutions on in vitro seedling growth and regeneration capacity of sainfoin (Onobrychis vicifolia Scop.) hypocotyl explants. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94, 1161–1164. https://doi.org/10.4141/CJPS2013-250

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

<< < 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.