Plasma is a soup of electrons with negative charges, positive ions and neutral atoms which also produces electromagnetic fields and ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Plasma arises when a gas is super-energized by heat or an electric current, for example and electrons.
Plasma substances are similar to gases but are not gases, with a certain part of the particles ionizing, and being the fourth substance after solids, liquids, and gases. This compound has three types, namely cold plasma and hot plasma.
Physicist from Polytechnique Montréal, Canada, Stephan Reuter, is currently developing a pilot project for the use of plasma for agriculture. He is considering how the burst of charged particles might affect lettuce growth.
In the State of Quebec, he was asked to help farmers rethink plasma energy to help grow lettuce in a greenhouse the size of four football fields. Here thousands of lettuce plants are grown on polystyrene mats in a hydroponic system.
On a farm that harvests every day, Reuter is tasked with using the theoretical physics of plasma to help a company called Hydroserre Inc. in the Mirabel region of Montréal, Canada, reduce its carbon footprint.
The company also wants to combat pathogens and avoid fertilizers from ammonia produced from nitrogen using the Haber-Bosch chemical reaction. This reaction had previously revolutionized agriculture in the early 20th century but the process produces hundreds of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.
“Ideally, we use renewable fertilizers,” Reuter was quoted as saying on the September 8 issue of Science News.
These researchers are working to create the agriculture of a truly sustainable future. Instead of simply reducing the carbon footprint of fertilizers, electricity for plasma ionization uses renewable sources such as wind or solar.
As a physicist who studies plasma, the challenges for Reuter are quite formidable. Plasma is very common indeed. In fact, 99 percent of the matter in the universe according to astrophysicists is in the plasma state. Like lightning and electric light bulbs produce plasma.
To illustrate, the Sun is a ball of plasma and gas. The solar wind is a stream of plasma. When these winds collide with the protective, plasma-rich magnetic pad that envelops the Earth, the interaction produces visible light streams, for example the aurora borealis at the North Pole and the aurora australis at the South Pole.
Scientists have long been interested in the biological implications of plasma. In the late 19th century, the Finnish physicist, Karl Selim Lemström, observed that the width of the growth rings on cypress trees near the Arctic Circle followed the aurora borealis cycle, widening when the northern lights were strongest. He suspects the phenomenon of aurora light somehow encourages plant growth.
To artificially imitate the northern lights, he placed a metal wire net over a growing plant and ran a current through it. As a result, the plant produces larger vegetables.
Exterminate Pathogens
When it comes to plant health, scientists have known exposure to plasma can safely kill pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. An animal study also showed that plasma can promote the growth of blood vessels in the skin.
In his research, Reuter studied how to take advantage of these properties to inhibit new infections in wounds and speed healing or treat other skin conditions. Together with other physicists he has researched the power of plasma to increase food production.
In the last 10 years they tested plasma on seeds, seedlings, crops and fields. This includes plasma produced using noble gases, as well as plasma produced from air. In some cases, plasma is applied directly through exposure to plasma flowing over the seed or plant.
Another approach uses plasma treated water to perform the dual task of irrigation and fertilization. Several studies have reported various benefits, ranging from helping plants grow faster and bigger to being able to fight pests.
“In the very early studies that we did in plasma in the last 10 to 15 years, we saw very promising data,” said a plant pathologist at Food Safety and Intervention Technology Research at the Agricultural Service’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, United States. (USA), Brendan Niemira.
The challenge now is to find out whether plasma can generate benefits at the plant hectare level.
Can we make it work in a field environment [untuk] provide benefits that can be integrated into future growth systems? “said Niemira. hay/I-1
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Editor : Ilham Sudrajat
Writer : Haryo Brono
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