Influence of ozonation in seed storage on corn grain yield and its quality

Abstract

Abstract Ozonation makes it possible to disinfect the material and ensures rehabilitation of micro-damage, which increases the overall crop yield. The corresponding studies were carried out to confirm the theoretical prerequisites for the positive effects of ozonation of seed during storage. As a result, it was found that ozonation of corn seeds in grain storage silo increases their germination capacity: laboratory – by 4% and field – by 10%, relative to the control sample without any treatment. At the same time the weight of grain collected from plants which seeds were ozonized during storage exceeded the same indicator in the control sample by 13.4%, and the thousand-seed weight – by 12.8%. Ozonation of seed grain during storage allowed increasing the grain yield, equivalent to one sowing hectare at a seeding rate of 6 pcs/m – by 9.3 c/ha. Besides, the share of coarse fractions (with the diameter of more than 7 mm) in a grain heap obtained from plants grown from ozonized seeds exceeds the corresponding indicator in the control version by 7.3%.