The Effect of Humic Aerosol Treatment on Grain Seeds Quality

Abstract

Introduction. According to experts, in the coming years, the world market of organic products will continue to grow at a rate of 15-16% per year. The growth will equal about 20% of the world market of all agricultural products by 2025. In this connection, of a particular interest is the development of elements of agricultural technologies for the use of soil-improving substances and growth regulators of natural origin, including humic preparations, which provide for sufficiently high yields of agricultural products. Materials and Methods. The methods of using humic preparations were investigated on the example of spring barley seeds, treated with the traditional semi-dry method and using hot mist. Germination of seeds in the laboratory was carried out according to the Russian State Standard GOST 12038-84. The laboratory data were subjected to mathematical processing by the method of variance analysis. Results. The treatment of seeds with humic preparations led to an increase in sowing qualities, regardless of the method of seed treatment. However, the comparative efficiency analysis of the pre-sowing treatment of the test crop seeds with the aerosol and using the semi-dry method showed that the use of the developed equipment made it possible to increase the biological activity of humic preparations, which brought about an increase in the growth and biometric parameters of seedlings. Discussion and Conclusion. The treatment of spring barley seeds with humic preparations has some positive effect on their sowing and yield qualities. The strongest positive effect was obtained when treating seeds with reduced sowing qualities, which was quite often observed when harvesting seed crops in years with unfavorable conditions: heavy rainfall, lack of heat, as well as in violation of the technology of harvesting and preparing seeds. Our experimental studies showed that the use of the developed device for treating seeds with hot mist reduces energy costs and increases processing efficiency.