STUDY OF EFFECTS OF PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD ON SOWING QUALITIES

The article considers the presowing seed treatment by pulse electric field under the laboratory conditions to improve their sowing quality. The tests were carried out in each treatment mode in fourfold repetition with 100 seeds in each repetition to have reliable experimental data. The control was untreated seeds. The control and tested seeds had initial moisture content - 11 %. The control and tested seeds were put for germination into sterile Petri dishes on a bed of filter paper being wetted by distilled water. The analysis of the obtained experimental data was conducted by the methods of mathematical statistics with applying computer calculation according to the task-level programming. The following parameters suitable for practical application of the rational mode of presowing treatment of onion seeds were established: the amplitude and the voltage pulse duration were correspondingly equal to 200V and 35 mu s, pulse frequency - 600 Hz, time treatment - 8 s.At the same time, the seed germination energy was increased by 7.9 % on the average, and germination by 8.5 % compared with the control untreated seeds. The rational parameters of the presowing treatment mode of onion seeds have been obtained experimentally, allowing to increase the seed germination energy by 7.9 % (up to 77.9 %), on the average and germination by 8.5 % (up to 91 %) in comparison with the control untreated seeds. The given rational mode can be practically used to improve sowing quality of onion seeds prior their sowing.