Electrostatic treatment of bean seeds

The classical methods of seed treatment make use of chemical substances, which are either expensive or harmful for the soil. This paper aims to demonstrate that exposure to the action of a high-intensity electric field can be an effective substitute for chemical agents. Experiments were carried out on infected bean seeds. Under normal conditions (no treatment), only about 30% of a reference sample of such seeds germinated. Other samples were subjected to AC electric fields, ranging from 2 to 16 kV/cm. The exposure time ranged from 1 s to 30 s. In the optimum laboratory test, more than 99% of the seeds germinated. The weight of the resulted plants was significantly superior to that of the beans developed from nontreated seeds. The field tests proved the efficiency of this method, which could be successfully employed for the prevention or treatment of various seed-transmitted diseases of plants. The automated seed treatment installation proposed in this paper consists of a plate-type capacitor, supplied from a 75 kV AC generator. Special devices ensure the rapid transfer of the material to and from the seed treatment cell. The method and the installation of seed treatment have been patented.