Effect of magnetic and electric treatments on growth, yield and seedling parameters of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the impact of electric current and magnetic field to the growth, yield, and seedling characteristics of chickpea by examining the response of chickpea to magnetic and electric treatments of varying intensities and durations. The ICC 30-70 seeds were obtained from the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding and subjected to treatments involving AC magnetic flux intensities ranging from 75 mT to 125 mT for 3 and 5 minutes in the magnetic field, as well as AC electric current ranging from 75 mA to 125 mA for 30, 60, and 90 seconds treatments, separated by equal rest periods. Throughout the study, statistically significant differences were found in field emergence (84.30%), leaf area (8.62cm2), plant height (35.60cm), biological yield (10.70gm), number of pods per plant (30), and total yield per plot (118.67gm). Within the seedling parameters, all treated seeds exhibited the highest germination percentage compared to the control. Additionally, there was a favorable impact on seedling length (27.85cm), fresh weight (0.74gm), dry weight (0.30gm), and vigour indices I (2683) and II (28.71) following the seed treatment. The present study leads to the conclusion that the magnetic and electric treatments shown superior performance when compared to the control. Throughout the investigation, it was noted that the application of magnetic and electric treatments positively influenced the vegetative growth of plants. Furthermore, the dry matter partitioning showed a substantial rise in seeds treated with electric current, leading to a higher yield-per plot.