Abstract
This study was carried out to determine whether magnetic treatment of the irrigation water may actually enhance vegetative growth and yield of tomato. Three magnetic flux densities of 124, 319 and 719 G (treatments T1, T2 and T3) were used to treat the water and a control experiment (Tc) which was irrigated with non-magnetically treated water was also set up. The magnetic field was produced by an electromagnet that had a variable voltage unit varying the voltage from 4 to 12 V. The tomato were planted in buckets, kept in a transparent garden shed for 130 days and irrigated with magnetically treated water and non-magnetically treated water. A completely randomized design experimental layout was used in this study and each of the three treatments was replicated seven times. The results indicated that tomato crop irrigated with magnetically treated water grew faster than that of the non-magnetically treated water and the stem diameters were bigger than those of control. The heights of tomato plants (T1, T2 T3 and Tc) after 47 days were 560.0, 556.4, 588.6 and 469.3 mm respectively. The total yield after 130 days of survey for T1, T2 T3 and Tc were 892.1, 1075.8, 1045.7 and 637.7 g respectively. The percentage increment in yield from the plants treated with magnetically treated water varied from 39.9 to 68.7% compared to the yield from untreated water.
Highlights
The use of magnetic field for the treatment of water is still a controversy issue especially in the Western world and Asian countries
This study was carried out to determine whether magnetic treatment of the irrigation water may enhance vegetative growth and yield of tomato
Vegetative growth and stem diameter of tomato plants The results of this study revealed that using magnetic flux densities of 124, 319 and 719 G for treating the irrigation water influenced the vegetative growth and stem diameter of the tomato plants
Summary
The use of magnetic field for the treatment of water is still a controversy issue especially in the Western world and Asian countries. Some researchers agreed that magnetic treatment of irrigation water can increase the crop yield (Podlesny et al, 2004; Moussa, 2011; Chern, 2012). Magnetic field may change the structure of water, thereby reducing surface tension, increase minerals’ dissolvability and provide adequate nutrients for plant growth (Babu, 2010). Moussa (2011) concluded that magnetically treated water with 3,000 G improved quantity and quality of common bean crop. He pointed that magnetic water could stimulate the defence system of plants, photosynthetic activity and translocation efficiency of photoassimilates. Chern (2012) used permanent magnet with magnetic field strength of 5,500 G for treating water which was used to irrigate okra plants and the effect on plant growth and yield was significant. This study was carried out to determine whether magnetic treatment of the irrigation water may enhance vegetative growth and yield of tomato
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