The sensitivity of fungi colonising buckwheat grains to cold plasma is species specific

Mravlje, Jure (author), Kobal, Tanja (author), Regvar, Marjana (author), Starič, Pia (author), Zaplotnik, Rok (author), Mozetič, Miran (author), Vogel-Mikuš, Katarina (author)

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 10$^{24}$–10$^{25}$ 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.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Fusarium, non-thermal plasma, decontamination, disinfection, crops
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 20 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 9, iss. 6, art. 609
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-153187
• UDC: 57
• ISSN on article: 2309-608X
• DOI: 10.3390/jof9060609
• COBISS.SI-ID: 153504259
• Publication date in RUL: 20.12.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of Fungi
• Shortened title: J. Fungi
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2309-608X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 525300761

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: hladna plazma, dekontaminacija, dezinfekcija, poljščine