When applied to documents or objects, ionizing radiation eliminates fungi and insects from dried botanical specimens (officially known as exsiccata). A group from the Environmental Research Institute (IPA) and the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) treated pressed, dehydrated leaf samples of plants from the Asteraceae and Solanaceae families collected in 1946, 1984, and 1986 with radiation emitted by the chemical element cobalt 60. Three absorbed radiation doses were assessed (1, 6, and 10 kilogray), the same used for disinfestation and disinfection of other materials. The tests, conducted by IPA’s Leni Lima, indicated that there was no significant change in the color or microscopic structures of the leaves. The ionizing radiation proved efficient, but because it requires special facilities and know-how, it remains unfeasible for herbariums in remote areas (Radiation Physics and Chemistry, January 2023).
RepublishBotany
Anti-fungus radiation in herbariums
Sample of earleaf nightshade (Solanum mauritianum) subjected to radiation treatment
Leni Ribeiro Lima / IPEN
