JPH09224422A - Method for sterilizing seed - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and easily sterilize seeds without adversely affecting budding and growth at all by adding the minute amount of electrolytes to water, generating strong acidic water by electrolyzing it and immersing the seeds of a plant used for greening work in the strong acidic water. SOLUTION: The strong acidic water whose pH is equal to or less than 2.7 is generated by adding the minute amount of the electrolytes such as sodium choloride and potassium choloride, etc., to the water and electrolyzing the water, the seeds of the plant such as an arboreous plant or the like used for the greening work are immersed in the strong acidic water and bacteria, molds and viruses stuck to the seeds are sterilized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing plant seeds used in revegetation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A variety of microorganisms and viruses are attached to seeds, and among them, many include those that are not desirable for germination and growth of plants (miscellaneous fungi). (In the present specification, for the sake of convenience, "microorganism" and "miscellaneous fungi" include virus. Therefore, inactivation of virus is also "sterilization",
It shall be included in the word "death". ) For seeds that are stored in a dry state, the fertility of the above-mentioned various fungi is considerably suppressed by drying, and this does not pose a problem.However, for seeds that are stored in a wet state, they are usually kept at low temperature during storage to propagate the various fungi. Although it does not progress, if it is shipped to be used for revegetation and kept at room temperature, various germs may propagate during the period until it germinates locally, and germination may be inhibited. In addition, although the seedlings germinate safely, the seedlings immediately after germination have weak resistance to various diseases, and microorganisms such as bacteria invade the conduit to block the increase in water content. It had a problem that it was susceptible to various growth inhibitions, such as becoming stale. The above germination / growth inhibition may be caused by various fungi in the soil, but it is also often caused by various fungi originally attached to the seed. From this, it is considered desirable to sterilize seeds by immersing them in a chemical solution or sprinkling them with a pesticide.

[0003] In recent years, greening has been shifting from herbaceous plants mainly to woody plants excellent in ground stabilization, early recovery of ecosystem, harmony with surrounding landscape, etc. . Herbaceous plants were vigorous in germination and growth, and were hardly affected by the above-mentioned various fungi.
On the other hand, some woody plants have varieties such that germination / growth is inhibited by various fungi, and a wilt disease after germination is likely to occur. Among them, the pioneer plant Birchaceae is an important species for tree planting, but it is particularly susceptible to various fungi and has been a hindrance in achieving tree planting at an early stage.

On the other hand, recently, it has been found that strongly electrolyzed water produced by electrolyzing a low-concentration saline solution with a strong electric current, that is, strongly alkaline water and strongly acidic water, has various beneficial effects. It was In the strongly alkaline water, a small amount of sodium hydroxide contained therein has a function as a surfactant, and is used for removing dirt such as proteins and lipids. On the other hand, strongly acidic water is known to have a bactericidal action and a deodorizing action due to its strong acidic and strong electric potential and effective chlorine contained therein. These strong electrolyzed waters are currently mainly used in the food industry and medical field, but have never been used in the revegetation work.

[0005]

In the conventional seed sterilization method, since the seed is soaked in the chemical solution for a long time, the seed may absorb water sufficiently and sprout during the treatment. Further, with a high-concentration drug solution, the seeds themselves may be adversely affected, and germination may be impaired, so concentration adjustment was necessary. Furthermore, the chemicals and pesticides used are harmful to the human body, and care must be taken when handling them.

[0006] The present invention is capable of sterilizing various kinds of fungi attached to the seed itself quickly and easily, reliably and safely,
Provided is a seed sterilizing method which has no adverse effect on the subsequent germination and growth of seed. In particular, it is intended to facilitate the introduction of woody plants whose germination and growth are easily inhibited by various fungi. Focusing on the bactericidal action of strong acid water, which has been used only in other fields, it is the first attempt to use strong acid water for sterilization of seeds in revegetation.

[0007]

The above-mentioned object is achieved by the present invention described below.

The present invention is a method for sterilizing plant seeds used for revegetation, in which a very small amount of an electrolyte is added to water and the water is electrolyzed to produce strongly acidic water. It is characterized in that the seed is immersed in water.

It is preferable that the strongly acidic water has a pH of 2.7 or less.

It is preferable to use salt or potassium chloride as the electrolyte.

[0011]

In addition to the strong acidity, the strongly acidic water has a strong electric potential, so that microorganisms are instantly killed and seed sterilization is performed. The pH of the strongly acidic water is
An excellent bactericidal action is exhibited at 2.7 or less. In addition, effective chlorine is produced by electrolysis of water, but if chloride or chloride such as potassium chloride is used as an electrolyte added at that time, the effective chlorine concentration is further increased and a higher bactericidal action is obtained. Since strongly acidic water kills almost all kinds of microorganisms, various types of bacteria (bacteria, molds, viruses, etc.) can be sterilized.

Although strongly acidic water has the strong acidity and strong bactericidal action as described above, it is harmless to the human body and does not damage the seeds themselves. Also, the strongly acidic water returns to normal water with the passage of time, and the available chlorine thereof is also highly volatile and has no persistence.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

In the present embodiment, strong acidic water is generated using a strong electrolyzed water generator “α1000” (TM) manufactured by Amano Co., Ltd. The above strong electrolyzed water generator has a salt water tank built-in, can be directly connected to the tap water, and electrolyzes low-concentration salt water by automatic control to obtain 1 liter of strong alkaline water and 1 liter of pH 2 Stable generation of strongly acidic water of 3 to 2.7. The strongly acidic water produced has a strong electric potential of redox potential +1000 mV or more, and the residual chlorine concentration thereof is about 20 ppm or more.

The strongly acidic water produced by the strongly electrolyzed water producing device has a strong bactericidal effect. Regarding the device, the following test reports have been published regarding the sterilizing effect of the strongly acidic water. Approximately 10 ² for strongly acidic water immediately after generation of 9 ml
The bactericidal effect when mixed with 1 ml of a suspension of -10 ⁶ / ml and treated at 20 ° C is about 10 kinds of non-sporulating bacteria, many of which are treated immediately after the treatment (about 5 seconds). It was not detected, and most of the bacteria were killed in 20 seconds. For aerobic spore-forming bacteria, tests were conducted on Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis, and the trophozoites of Bacillus subtilis were not detected within 20 seconds, and the trophozoites of Bacillus cereus were about 100 to 100 in about 1 minute.
It has been reduced by a factor of 0. About 30-60 in each spore
Not detected in minutes. Three kinds of anaerobic spore-forming bacteria were tested, and none of them were detected immediately after the treatment. Also,
Four types of fungi were all undetected within 20 seconds, and three types of virus were not detected immediately after the treatment. Compared with the sodium hypochlorite solution with the same residual chlorine concentration, which was performed at the same time, it was found that the strongly acidic water had a higher bactericidal action for some of the abacterial bacteria and fungi.
(It should be noted that some viruses and abacterial bacteria have not been subjected to comparative experiments.)

The above-mentioned test report was mainly made on pathogenic bacteria harmful to the human body, and although the number of test bacteria is limited, strongly acidic water exerts a strong bactericidal action on various microorganisms. It can be said that this is a known document that clearly shows Most microorganisms usually have an optimum pH in the weakly acidic to neutral range,
In addition to being difficult to survive in a strongly acidic region, the environment of redox potential +1000 mV or more, the presence of available chlorine, etc. are synergized, and immediate effect and high bactericidal effect are obtained. In addition, the strongly acidic water returns to normal water with the passage of time, and the effective chlorine thereof has a high volatility and no residual property, so that the highest bactericidal effect is obtained immediately after the production.

The germination and growth of plants are also affected by various bacteria, fungi, viruses and the like. Among them, it is considered that there are many bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and actinomycetes, and molds, slime molds and fungi, which are harmful to plants, but these are also instantly sterilized by strongly acidic water.

A method of sterilizing seeds with the strongly acidic water produced by the strongly electrolyzed water producing apparatus will be described below.

The seeds of the plant are immersed in the strongly acidic water obtained by the strongly electrolyzed water producing apparatus and sterilized. In this embodiment, the immersion time is about 5 minutes. After the sterilization treatment, the seed does not require any post-treatment such as washing and can be used as it is for revegetation.

The time of the sterilization treatment may be a method in which the above sterilization treatment is first carried out immediately after collecting the seeds and the seeds are stored until they are used, or the seeds which have been stored without being sterilized immediately after the collection are used. Alternatively, a method of sterilizing before use may be adopted, or these may be used in combination.

The above-mentioned sterilized seeds can then be used for various planting such as seeding and blending with a growth base. The seed sown thereafter secures a stable and high germination rate without sustaining germination / growth inhibition of various fungi and sustains good growth.

[0022]

As described above, since strongly acidic water kills almost all kinds of microorganisms, it is possible to surely sterilize various kinds of bacteria (bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.). In addition, because the bactericidal action of strongly acidic water is highly effective,
Processing time is short and work efficiency is good. Therefore, during seed sterilization treatment, there is no concern that seeds may germinate due to water absorption.

Although the above strongly acidic water exhibits strong acidity, unlike hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, it has no corrosive properties, is harmless to the human body, and is extremely easy to handle. Also, the seed itself is not damaged. Furthermore, the strongly acidic water returns to normal water with the passage of time, and the effective chlorine thereof is also highly volatile and has no residual property, so that post-treatment such as washing, neutralization, and wastewater management is not required. Therefore, the effect of the strong acid water immersion treatment does not remain, and there is no hindrance to the subsequent germination of seeds and the growth of plants that normally prefer weak acidity.

As described above, according to the method for sterilizing seeds of the present invention, the seeds are sterilized promptly and safely, reliably and simply, and the seeds sufficiently exhibit their original germination ability without being affected by various fungi. A stable and high germination rate is secured. This suppresses variations in germination rate among lots and leads to stabilization of the quality of seeds used for revegetation. Further, even in seedlings, especially in young seedlings immediately after germination, various diseases and growth inhibition due to various fungi such as wilt can be prevented, and good growth can be expected.

[0025] In particular, it facilitates the introduction of woody plants such as birch trees and the like, which have a limited germination / growth condition and are easily affected by various fungi. To contribute.

The present invention focuses on the excellent properties of strongly acidic water, and associates this with the problems that the conventional greening field had,
This is the first use of strongly acidic water for seed sterilization.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for sterilizing plant seeds used for revegetation, comprising adding a trace amount of an electrolyte to water and electrolyzing the water to generate strongly acidic water, A method for sterilizing seeds, which comprises immersing the seeds. 2. The method for sterilizing seeds according to claim 1, wherein the strongly acidic water has a pH of 2.7 or less. 3. The seed sterilizing method according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte is salt or potassium chloride.