FEP: Organic-compliant method of killing fungal spores and viruses on seeds

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Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) in Dresden, Germany, have developed an alternative to fungicide treatment for killing fungal spores and viruses on the surface of seeds. The method complies with organic farming standards. They now plan to spin-out the technology into a start-up company.

Conventional farming practice involves treating seeds with a mixture of chemicals, including fungicides to protect seedlings from attack by fungi, insecticides against wireworms, aphids and biting insects, herbicides to suppress weeds. None of these are consistent with organic farming standards.

“If cereal crops succumb to disease, this is usually due to microscopic fungi and spores present on the outer surface and in the husk of the seeds. Instead of using chemical products to eradicate these spores, we use of accelerated electrons,” said researcher Olaf Röder.

The effect is similar to using cooking to kill contaminants. “When you make strawberry jam, the germs are killed by the high temperature and your jam will keep for years. The electrons destroy the chemical bonds that hold together the molecules in the fungal spores and other pathogens, but without generating heat,” said Röder.

The system developed by the researchers is capable of treating 30 tonnes of seeds per hour, equivalent to disinfecting the entire surface of around 200,000 individual seeds per second. The electrons must be dosed very precisely to ensure that they penetrate no further than the outer layers of the seed.

The researchers are currently disinfecting around 5,000 metric tons of seeds per year in collaboration with seed growers Schmidt-Seeger-GmbH.

“Our method has been approved for use in conventional arable farming, and is even recommended for use in organic farming. We are planning to set up a spin-off company to take over and expand these production activities,” Röder said.