Cold Plasma Treated Rice Seeds Inhibit Fall Armyworm Growth

The Problem

Fall armyworm is a particularly damaging pest in rice and other crops and controlling it often requires repeated insecticide applications. At the same time, organic and low-input farming systems have limited pest management options.

The Work

Mahfuzur Rahman, Assistant Professor of Food Science, and Rupesh Kariyat, Associate Professor of Crop Entomology, both with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, first treated rice seeds with cold plasma. They irrigated the resulting plants with cold plasma–activated water, which is water that has been treated with cold plasma and has some antimicrobial properties. Plant growth traits as well as the growth and development of fall armyworm feeding on the rice were then evaluated.

The Results

The study found that cold plasma treatment altered rice plant traits in ways that negatively affected fall armyworm growth and development. Plasma-treated plants also showed signs of improved early growth, including increased leaf development and faster germination, though the germination differences were not statistically significant. Over time, untreated plants caught up in overall growth, suggesting the benefits of cold plasma were most pronounced during early developmental stages.

The Value

The findings highlight cold plasma as a tool that could be used to enhance early plant vigor and natural insect resistance, potentially reducing the need for chemical insecticides. The technology may be especially valuable for organic agriculture if it is one day approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If optimized and scaled, cold plasma treatments could complement existing seed treatments and open new avenues for organic food production.