ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Crop and Product Physiology
Dual Effects of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water on Rice Seed Germination: Insights from Water Dynamics via Low-Field NMR
Tiangang Hou
Fangming Cui
Mengnan Yang
Wenzhong Zhang
Jiping Gao
Mingjin Xin
Hongguang Cui
Cuihong Liu
Liyan Wu
Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
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Abstract
To investigate the effects of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) treatment on rice seed germination, rice seeds were soaked with SAEW at different available chlorine concentrations (ACC) of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 mg/L. A standard seed germination test was conducted to summarize the influence of SAEW with varying ACC on rice seed germination. Meanwhile, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies were employed to reveal the underlying mechanisms by studying the internal moisture changes, water migration patterns, and water distribution characteristics. The results demonstrated a hormetic effect of SAEW on rice seed germination, characterized by significant promotion at lower ACCs (10-40 mg/L) and inhibition at higher ACCs (50-60 mg/L). The most pronounced promotive effect was observed at an ACC of 30 mg/L. Low ACC SAEW accelerated the water storage rate within the rice seeds, facilitated the conversion and accumulation of free water, thereby providing favorable moisture conditions for seed germination and subsequently promoting rice growth. In contrast, high ACC SAEW damaged the rice cell walls under osmotic stress, leading to a reduced water absorption rate and consequently inhibiting rice growth. This study, starting from the pre-treatment of rice seeds, investigated the entire process, providing theoretical support and data reference for rice production and processing.
Summary
Keywords
Electrolyzed water, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, rice, Signal amplitude, transverse relaxation time, Water
Received
06 November 2025
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Hou, Cui, Yang, Zhang, Gao, Xin, Cui, Liu and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Liyan Wu
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