Nonthermal plasma (NTP), or cold plasma, has shown many advantages in the agriculture sector as it enables removal of pesticides and contaminants from the seed surface, increases shelf life of crops, improves germination and resistance to abiotic stress. Recent studies show that plasma treatment indeed offers unique and environmentally friendly processing of different seeds, such as wheat, beans, corn, soybeans, barley, peanuts, rice and Arabidopsis thaliana, which could reduce the use of agricultural chemicals and has a high potential in ecological farming. This review covers the main concepts and underlying principles of plasma treatment techniques and their interaction with seeds. Different plasma generation methods and setups are presented and the influence of plasma treatment on DNA damage, gene expression, enzymatic activity, morphological and chemical changes, germination and resistance to stress, is explained. Important plasma treatment parameters and interactions of plasma species with the seed surface are presented and critically discussed in correlation with recent advances in this field. Although plasma agriculture is a relatively new field of research, and the complex mechanisms of interactions are not fully understood, it holds great promise for the future. This overview aims to present the advantages and limitations of different nonthermal plasma setups and discuss their possible future applications.

Bacterial infections of medical devices present severe problems connected with long-term antibiotic treatment, implant failure, and high hospital costs. Therefore, there are enormous demands for innovative techniques which would improve the surface properties of implantable materials. Plasma technologies present one of the compelling ways to improve metal’s antibacterial activity; plasma treatment can significantly alter metal surfaces’ physicochemical properties, such as surface chemistry, roughness, wettability, surface charge, and crystallinity, which all play an important role in the biological response of medical materials. Herein, the most common plasma treatment techniques like plasma spraying, plasma immersion ion implantation, plasma vapor deposition, and plasma electrolytic oxidation as well as novel approaches based on gaseous plasma treatment of surfaces are gathered and presented. The latest results of different surface modification approaches and their influence on metals’ antibacterial surface properties are presented and critically discussed. The mechanisms involved in bactericidal effects of plasma-treated surfaces are discussed and novel results of surface modification of metal materials by highly reactive oxygen plasma are presented.

Crop seeds are frequently colonised by fungi from the field or storage places. Some fungi can cause plant diseases or produce mycotoxins, compromising the use of seeds as seeding material, food or feed. We have investigated the effects of cold plasma (CP) on seed germination and diversity of seed-borne fungi in common and Tartary buckwheat. The seeds were treated with CP for 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 s in a low-pressure radiofrequency system using oxygen as the feed gas. The fungi from the seed surface and fungal endophytes were isolated using potato dextrose agar plates. After identification by molecular methods, the frequency and diversity of fungal strains were compared between CP treated and chemically surface-sterilised (30% of H₂O₂) seeds. CP treatments above 60 s negatively affected the germination of both buckwheat species. A significant reduction in fungal frequency and diversity was observed after 90 s and 120 s in common and Tartary buckwheat, respectively. The filamentous fungi of genera Alternaria and Epicoccum proved to be the most resistant to CP. The results of our study indicate that CP treatment used in our study may be applicable in postharvest and food production, but not for further seed sowing.

Cold plasma (CP) technology is a technique used to change chemical and morphological characteristics of the surface of various materials. It is a newly emerging technology in agriculture used for seed treatment with the potential of improving seed germination and yield of crops. Wheat seeds were treated with glow (direct) or afterglow (indirect) low-pressure radio-frequency oxygen plasma. Chemical characteristics of the seed surface were evaluated by XPS and FTIR analysis, changes in the morphology of the seed pericarp were analysed by SEM and AFM, and physiological characteristics of the seedlings were determined by germination tests, growth studies, and the evaluation of α-amylase activity. Changes in seed wettability were also studied, mainly in correlation with functionalization of the seed surface and oxidation of lipid molecules. Only prolonged direct CP treatment resulted in altered morphology of the seed pericarp and increased its roughness. The degree of functionalization is more evident in direct compared to indirect CP treatment. CP treatment slowed the germination of seedlings, decreased the activity of α-amylase in seeds after imbibition, and affected the root system of seedlings.

Cold plasma technology has received significant attention in agriculture due to its effect on the seeds and plants of important cultivars, such as wheat. Due to climate change, wherein increasing temperatures and droughts are frequent, it is important to consider novel approaches to agricultural production. As increased dormancy levels in wheat are correlated with high temperatures and drought, improving the germination and root growth of wheat seeds could offer new possibilities for seed sowing. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of direct (glow) and indirect (afterglow) radio-frequency (RF) oxygen plasma treatments on the germination of two winter wheat varieties: Apache and Bezostaya 1. The influence of plasma treatment on seed surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy, and it was observed that direct plasma treatment resulted in a high etching and nanostructuring of the seed surface. The effect of plasma treatment on germination was evaluated by measuring the germination rate, counting the number of roots and the length of the root system, and the fresh weight of seedlings. The results of this study indicate that the response of seeds to direct and indirect plasma treatment may be variety-dependent, as differences between the two wheat varieties were observed.

Fungi are the leading cause of plant diseases worldwide and are responsible for enormous agricultural and industrial losses on a global scale. Cold plasma (CP) is a potential tool for eliminating or inactivating fungal contaminants from biological material such as seeds and grains. This study used a low-pressure radiofrequency CP system with oxygen as the feed gas to test the decontamination efficacy of different genera and species commonly colonising buckwheat grains. Two widely accepted methods for evaluating fungal decontamination after CP treatment of seeds were compared: direct cultivation technique or contamination rate method (%) and indirect cultivation or colony-forming units (CFU) method. For most of the tested fungal taxa, an efficient decrease in contamination levels with increasing CP treatment time was observed. Fusarium graminearum was the most susceptible to CP treatment, while Fusarium fujikuroi seems to be the most resistant. The observed doses of oxygen atoms needed for 1-log reduction range from 10²⁴–10²⁵ m⁻². Although there was some minor discrepancy between the results obtained from both tested methods (especially in the case of Fusarium spp.), the trends were similar. The results indicate that the main factors affecting decontamination efficiency are spore shape, size, and colouration.