THE EFFECT OF AN ELECTRICAL FIELD ON GERMINATION AND GROWTH OF SEEDLINGS

Abstract

A weak electrical field has a stimulatory effect on germination of seeds and the early growth of young plants. Waldo bean seeds were placed in a chamber with moistened filter paper. Oppositely charged aluminum plates were used to stimulate growth. The top plate was,suspended above the filter paper to eliminate the possibility of a direct current flow through the paper. Each set of samples was examined after 5 days. The average root length of the test groups was significantly greater than that of the control groups. Additional experiments suggested that the rate of growth of the plants in soil was enhanced by applying a weak electric field to the soil. Using electricity to stimulate better germination has many practical applications. A current agricultural practice is to germinate seeds in dissolving tubes for planting as individual plants. Results of these experiments suggest that applying an electric current to the germinating seeds would stimulate them to grow more vigorously for more successful growth in the field, The use of electricity may have important applications as art adjunct to organic farming practices. Experiments are under way to apply the use of electricity to hydroponic systems. Foster, K.R. and H.P. Schwann. 1986. In: C. Polk and E. Postrow (eds.). CRC handbook of biological effects of electromagnetic fields. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Fla. Weaver, J.C. and R.D. Astumian. 1990. The response of living cells to very weak electric fields: The thermal noise limit. Science 247:459-462.