Abstract
Plasma-activated water (PAW) has been shown to enhance seed germination and seedling growth across various plants. This study investigates the impact of PAW on peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seed germination, viability, growth and gene expression in sprouts. Seeds were treated with PAW for 0, 40, and 80 minutes and sown in fermented oak sawdust. Germination rate, weight, length, and seedling vigor index were assessed. Among the different PAW treatments, the longest true leaf with epicotyl and the longest hypocotyl were observed in PAW80 (7.3 cm and 3.1 cm, respectively). Specifically, the root length was observed the longest in PAW80 (10.4 cm). The PAW80 had the highest vigor index (1385.1), followed by PAW40 (1048.7). Gene ontology analysis revealed that shoot growth related gene expression in PAW40 and PAW80 peanut groups relatively higher than PAW 0 group. Overall, PAW80 provided the most favorable conditions for peanut sprout growth, promoting shoot-growth related gene expression. Our findings suggest that PAW positively affects peanut and seedling growth by the regulation of shoot promoting genes.