Sustainable agriculture

Disinfecting seeds safely and sustainably using electron treatment

Research News /

Chemical seed treatment rids seeds of fungi, viruses and bacteria. However, this comes at a high cost: The active agents used can also have harmful effects for farmers, the soil and the environment. On the other hand, electrons can be used to treat seeds in an environmentally friendly, sustainable and economical way — a method which helped the E-VITA GmbH start-up, a joint venture of the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP and Ceravis AG, to win the Fraunhofer Founder Award for 2021.