Di Giuseppe, D., J. Ibáñez, M. Melchiorre, and M. Coltorti (2018), On the potential effect of micronized zeolites on seed germination: A prospective study,Periodico di Mineralogia, 87(1), 57-65, doi: 10.2451/2018PM737.
Abstract
It is well known that zeolite yields positive effects to seed germination. However, any previous study has so far highlighted how the zeolite interacts with the seeds. The goal of this paper is to assess the effect of zeolite on radish seed germination by means of standard analytical methods. As starting assumption, we hypothesize that the micronized zeolite mixed with water May try to break the seed’s husk and allow the water to enter the seed. X-Ray diffraction is used to characterize the structural properties of the zeolite employed in this work, while Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy coupled with Scanning Electron Microscope is employed to investigate seeds of radish that were previously treated with or without micronized natural zeolite. The present results confirm the positive effects of the zeolites on seed germination. In addition, it is found that zeolite grains on the surface of the seeds cannot penetrate its husk, implying that there is no risk of zeolite accumulation within the tissues of the plant’s embryo.
