Plasma agriculture: A rapidly emerging field

Abstract

Obtaining high yields in agricultural production is essential due to the world's population growth and increased food demand. At the same time, adverse effects of agriculture on the environment need to be kept to a minimum. Low temperature plasmas (LTPs) show promise as efficient green technologies for enhancing productivity while maintaining good food quality and safety in the many steps of the food cycle. As a result, applications of LTPs in agriculture have led to creation of a new, rapidly developing field called “plasma agriculture.” Here, we briefly overview the state-of-the-art of LTP applications in the complete food cycle, that is, in treatments of seeds, plants, and food.