Performance of different magnetic and electromagnetic water treatment devices on soil and two tomato cultivars

Abstract

The application of magnetic and Electromagnetic fields for irrigation water treatment is still an attractive and promising process for the alleviation of the adverse effects of salinity and the enhancement of crop production. Hence, a study was initiated to test the effectiveness of different commercial magnetic and electromagnetic water. treatment devices on soil and two Tunisian tomato crop cultivars, Senda and Dorra. For this purpose, a field experiment was conducted at the experimental Station of Cherfech, located in the north of Tunisia. A randomized complete design with three replicates was used and five magnetic, GMX (1.2 T), Magiko (1.6 T), Deltawater (1.4 T), and Magnolith (0.62T), and electromagnetic Aqua-4D (0.0043T) treatment devices were applied for the treatment of a moderate saline water (EC = 2.9 dS m–1). Results showed that different magnetic and electromagnetic treatments tended to reduce soil salinity and pH, improve crop growth, yield, and fruit caliber, but decline the total soluble solids (°Brix) and the titratable acidity of both tomato cultivars. The greatest Magnetic effects were shown for Senda cultivar with Aqua 4-D treatment, whereas the least effect was recorded for Dorra cultivar with Magiko treatment. Accordingly, the influence of magnetic and electromagnetic treatment of irrigation water on soil and tomatoes depends on the choice of tomato cultivar and increases with the following trends: Magiko < Deltawater < GMX < Magnolith < Aqua 4-D. Likewise, their influence depends on their field intensity, which increases in the trend of: 1.6 T < 1.4T < 1.2T < 0.62T < 0.0043T, suggesting that the performance of each device increases as magnetic field intensity decreases. This study highlights that an electromagnetic device (Aqua 4-D) with a weak field intensity (<0.5mT) could also have similar effects to that of a magnetic device (Magnolith).