Acceleration of germination and early growth of plant seeds by high frequency and low intensity alternating electric fields

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to accelerate germination of plant seeds with application of a high frequency alternating electric field. In the present study we show that low-intensity (0.05–1 Vpp/cm) and high frequency (10–100 MHz) alternating electric fields accelerate seed germination. We found that 1 Vpp/cm (peak to peak voltage/cm), 100 MHz alternating electric field application for 10 h significantly shortened germination time of arugula, Japanese mustard spinach, and pea seeds, respectively. In arugula and Japanese mustard spinach seeds at 24 h incubation and pea seeds at 32 h incubation after beginning of the application, the germination rates of the electric field applied plant seeds were enhanced 1.5–2.2 times compared to the untreated seeds, respectively. After 72 h of the incubation, the 1 Vpp/cm, 100 MHz alternating electric field for 10 h significantly increased 1.4 folds of culm lengths in the arugula, the Japanese mustard spinach, and the pea seeds compared with those of the untreated seeds.