PLAIT

Plasma and Phenotyping Technologies for Improved Seed Quality for Tree Production

Duration from 15.9.2023 – 27.3.2025, funded by the Tree Production Innovation Fund (TPIF) of the Forestry Commission of the United Kingdom under the funding reference TPIF_92.

Breaking seed dormancy for nursery propagation requires periods (sometimes several months) of warm and cold stratification, which are often only partially effective and tree seed germination may be slow and unpredictable, limiting the production of seedlings for tree planting. Under the lead of the Millennium Seed Bank, hosted by Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, UK, this project will investigate the effects of plasma treatments on seed dormancy, germination, and storage for eight UK native tree species. The expertise of Royal Botanic Gardens and INP will be complemented by phenoLytics GmbH, and Elsoms Trees Ltd. Results will improve knowledge of dormancy mechanisms and germination requirements of tree seeds and enable improved propagation of trees from seeds. The role of plasma treatments in the microbial decontamination of tree seeds will also be determined, which will contribute to enhancing tree seed quality in the forest trade.

The project will integrate globally unique high-throughput 3D X-ray phenotyping to quantitatively assess the effects of plasma treatments on seed quality, germination and seedling development. This technology can then be leveraged to optimise seed screening and sorting to remove damaged and defective low-quality/unviable seeds for an efficient production of high-quality forestry seeds. The development and optimisation of plasma treatments and phenotyping algorithms for diverse tree seeds will enable the wider application of these technologies in the forestry sector to improve seed quality and and enhance tree production.