Abstract
Crop yield can be raised by establishment of adequate plant stand using seeds with high germination ratio and vigor. Various pre-sowing treatments are adopted to achieve this objective. One of these approaches is the exposure of seeds to a low-to-medium level magnetic field (MF), in pulsed and continuous modes, as they have shown positive results in a number of crop seeds. On the basis of the sensitivity of plants to MF, different types of MF have been used for magnetopriming studies, such as weak static homogeneous magnetic fields (0–100 μT, including GMF), strong homogeneous magnetic fields (milliTesla to Tesla), and extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields of low-to-moderate (several hundred μT) magnetic flux densities. The agronomic application of MFs in plants has shown potential in altering conventional plant production systems; increasing mean germination rates, and root and shoot growth; having high productivity; increasing photosynthetic pigment content; and intensifying cell division, as well as water and nutrient uptake. Furthermore, different studies suggest that MFs prevent the large injuries produced/inflicted by diseases and pests on agricultural crops and other economically important plants and assist in reducing the oxidative damage in plants caused by stress situations. An improved understanding of the interactions between the MF and the plant responses could revolutionize crop production through increased resistance to disease and stress conditions, as well as the superiority of nutrient and water utilization, resulting in the improvement of crop yield. In this review, we summarize the potential applications of MF and the key processes involved in agronomic applications. Furthermore, in order to ensure both the safe usage and acceptance of this new opportunity, the adverse effects are also discussed.
Highlights
IntroductionSeed germination is enhanced by pre-sowing treatments through chemical or physical methods by breaking dormancy, which protects the seeds against pest and diseases and provides uniform
Seed germination is enhanced by pre-sowing treatments through chemical or physical methods by breaking dormancy, which protects the seeds against pest and diseases and provides uniformPlants 2020, 9, 1139; doi:10.3390/plants9091139 www.mdpi.com/journal/plantsPlants 2020, 9, 1139 crop stand establishment in the field
The results further suggest that the use of magnetic field (MF) increased carbon and nitrogen metabolism and improved soybean yield in terms of pod number, seed number, and seed weight under saline and non-saline conditions
Summary
Seed germination is enhanced by pre-sowing treatments through chemical or physical methods by breaking dormancy, which protects the seeds against pest and diseases and provides uniform. Seed vigor and vitality are lost in storage due to deterioration, which results in loss of expensive seed material Priming treatments such as osmo-priming, hydro-priming, halo-priming, and solid matrix priming are pre-sowing techniques that hydrate the seeds during the treatment process, thereby improving germination at the cost of seed storage [1,2]. There is real evidence that magnetic pre-germination treatment of seeds before sowing allows for reduced costs of planting as germination rates are increased substantially, as well as the plant growth being promoted [6,7,8]. The present review is focused on the application of MF and MW (magnetized water) in seed germination, plant growth, and development of plants and microalgae
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