&lt;p&gt;High Frequency Pulsatile Electromagnetic Fields and Ultrasound Pulsatile Fields Impact on Germination Dynamic at &lt;i&gt;Ocimum basilicum&lt;/i&gt; L. and &lt;i&gt;O. basilicum&lt;/i&gt; var. &lt;i&gt;purpurascens&lt;/i&gt; Benth., Observed with Open Source Software’s&lt;/p&gt;

Ioan Onac,Gelu Moldovan,Rodica Ungur,Valentin Singureanu

doi:10.15835/nbha.44.1.10328

Abstract

Basil (Ocimum sp.), generally knowned as 'king of herbs' due to its pharmaceutical and culinary properties, is considered to be a native plant derived from Africa and Asia. Ocimum sp. grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions with more than 50 species knowned till present time. Germination percent of Ocimum sp. is considered to be between 85-95%. Even though Ocimum sp. are considered to have fast germination velocity index (GVI), short mean germination time (MGT) and increased seedling vigor index (SVI) values, their experimental monitoring is done with specialized software's that are expensive. Low cost scientific solutions are keen on open source software germination protocols. For observing the accuracy of open source C.A.D. software's Ocimum sp. seeds where submitted to high frequency pulsatile electromagnetic fields (300 impulses/3 peak penetrance - 293 W) and ultrasound pulsatile fields (1/2 pulses by 0.5 W/cm2). All sequence images where taken using a positive/negative photo filter enhancing differences in seed development. At the end of the experiment all images where transformed into vector formats (dwg). On the dwg extension, selective free plug-ins such as Face Centroid and Area Properties help to collect data like seed development on X/Y scale, area, perimeter, no. of germinated seeds, length of seedling root, hypocotyl length.

Highlights

The Ocimum genus belonging to Lamiaceae family has a widely spread genetic diversity with at least 65 botanical classified species (Paton et al, 1999)
Seed area development was observed with the help of a visual presenter equipped with a HD camera, assuring proper observation at every seed stage development by photo sequencing and raster to vector enhancement
Even though ultrasound pulses experimental variants obtained the maximum germination capacity, the results were not assured from the statistical point of view (Fig. 4)

Summary

Introduction

The Ocimum genus belonging to Lamiaceae family has a widely spread genetic diversity with at least 65 botanical classified species (Paton et al, 1999). The botanical name significance of Ocimum genus has its base point in Greek language meaning “to be fragrant”. From this point of view, the main usage of basil consists in food industry and pharmaceutical sectors, due to its content of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phenylpropanoids, anthocyanins, and phenolic acids. Extracts of Ocimum genus are commonly used in traditional medicine for insecticidal, nematicidal, fungistatic and antimicrobial properties (Zlotek et al, 2016). Taxonomy issues such as numerous botanical varieties, cultivar names and chemotypes make Ocimum genus hard to classify (Simon et al, 1990)

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Conclusion