Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato
Various electromagnetic (EM) treatments has been investigated for their potential in improving crop productivity over the past century. There is today an increasing amount of scientists advocating EM treatments as an organically compatible method for improving plant growth and yield. However, failu...
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| Formato: | M2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101)
2015
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855571311522217984 |
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| author | Samuelsson, Anton |
| author_browse | Samuelsson, Anton |
| author_facet | Samuelsson, Anton |
| author_sort | Samuelsson, Anton |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | Various electromagnetic (EM) treatments has been investigated for their potential in improving crop productivity over the past century. There is today an increasing amount of scientists advocating EM treatments as an organically compatible method for improving plant
growth and yield. However, failure to produce repeatable effects and defining causal mechanisms has made it a study of much controversy and debate. The subject requires indepth
interdisciplinary knowledge, making it inaccessible for the majority of biologists, horticulturists and growers. In this combined literature review and pilot study, these issues are addressed by providing a comprehensive introductory review of the topic plant
bioelectromagnetics and its potential horticultural usability. A vast amount of literature has been reviewed to assess the nature of electromagnetic fields (EMF), what effects of horticultural relevance has been observed, what the fundamental mechanisms behind studied effects might be, and ultimately the potential of using EM treatments for improved crop productivity. A pilot study investigating the effects of an EM pre-sowing treatment of tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, seeds is also presented both as a means of assessing the usability of EM treatments and providing an example of a study in bioelectromagnetics. In the pilot study, a 50 Hz non-uniform sinusoidal EMF of 160, 40 and 9 mT was used to treat the seeds for 15 or 30 minutes, with un-exposed seeds as controls. The exposure was also set in three background static magnetic field (SMF) conditions; one where Ion Cyclotron Resonance conditions for calcium were met (65.8 μT), one where they were not (68.5 μT) and one where only the natural geomagnetic field was present (46.9 μT). The results indicate that a background SMF of 65.8 μT has a significantly inhibitory effect on germination of S. lycopersicum (p<0.01), while the EMF exposure had no significant effects on germination or subsequent growth. It should however be noted that this data is indicative and needs further validation with better
experimental conditions. The literature review found that EM treatments have shown many horticulturally interesting effects on plants, and that EM treatments has the potential for horticultural use. However, since they are hard to predict and reproduce it is proposed that extensive species-specific and exposure-specific research should be conducted prior to field application. Many biological effects and mechanisms has also been described and proposed, but much is still debated and more research is needed in these areas since they are key in improving the predictability and accuracy of EM treatments. |
| format | M2 |
| id | RepoSLU8192 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU81922015-10-21T14:27:40Z Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato Bioelektromagnetik för ökad produktivitet hos grödor : en inledande genomgång med pilot-försök av försåddsbehandling av tomat Samuelsson, Anton horticulture electromagnetic treatments electromagnetic fields electric fields magnetic fields effects plants magnetoreception ion cyclotron resonance solanum lycopersicum Various electromagnetic (EM) treatments has been investigated for their potential in improving crop productivity over the past century. There is today an increasing amount of scientists advocating EM treatments as an organically compatible method for improving plant growth and yield. However, failure to produce repeatable effects and defining causal mechanisms has made it a study of much controversy and debate. The subject requires indepth interdisciplinary knowledge, making it inaccessible for the majority of biologists, horticulturists and growers. In this combined literature review and pilot study, these issues are addressed by providing a comprehensive introductory review of the topic plant bioelectromagnetics and its potential horticultural usability. A vast amount of literature has been reviewed to assess the nature of electromagnetic fields (EMF), what effects of horticultural relevance has been observed, what the fundamental mechanisms behind studied effects might be, and ultimately the potential of using EM treatments for improved crop productivity. A pilot study investigating the effects of an EM pre-sowing treatment of tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, seeds is also presented both as a means of assessing the usability of EM treatments and providing an example of a study in bioelectromagnetics. In the pilot study, a 50 Hz non-uniform sinusoidal EMF of 160, 40 and 9 mT was used to treat the seeds for 15 or 30 minutes, with un-exposed seeds as controls. The exposure was also set in three background static magnetic field (SMF) conditions; one where Ion Cyclotron Resonance conditions for calcium were met (65.8 μT), one where they were not (68.5 μT) and one where only the natural geomagnetic field was present (46.9 μT). The results indicate that a background SMF of 65.8 μT has a significantly inhibitory effect on germination of S. lycopersicum (p<0.01), while the EMF exposure had no significant effects on germination or subsequent growth. It should however be noted that this data is indicative and needs further validation with better experimental conditions. The literature review found that EM treatments have shown many horticulturally interesting effects on plants, and that EM treatments has the potential for horticultural use. However, since they are hard to predict and reproduce it is proposed that extensive species-specific and exposure-specific research should be conducted prior to field application. Many biological effects and mechanisms has also been described and proposed, but much is still debated and more research is needed in these areas since they are key in improving the predictability and accuracy of EM treatments. Under det senaste århundradet har olika elektromagnetiska (EM) behandlingar undersökts för deras potentiellt gynnsamma effekter på grödors produktivitet. Idag har EM behandlingar föreslagits av flera forskare som en möjlig ekologiskt anpassad metod för ökad tillväxt och skörd hos växter. Svårigheter att upprepa resultat och förklara bakomliggande orsaker har dock gjort ämnet mycket kontroversiellt och omdebatterat. Elektromagnetiska studier kräver djupa interdisciplinära kunskaper vilket gör dem otillgängliga för många biologer, hortonomer och odlare. I denna kombinerade litteraturstudie och pilotstudie adresseras dessa frågor genom en omfattande inledande genomgång av ämnet växtinriktad bioelektromagnetik samt dess potentiella hortikulturella användbarhet. En stor mängd studier har bearbetats för att bedöma EMF's natur, vilka effekter av hortikulturell relevans som har studerats, vilka fundamentala mekanismer som påstås ligga bakom dessa effekter, och slutligen användbarheten av EM behandlingar för ökade skörder. En pilotstudie som undersökte effekten av en EM försåddsbehandling av tomat, Solanum lycopersicum, presenteras också som ett exempel på en EM studie och som en del av användbarhetsbedömningen. I studien behandlades fröerna med ett 50 Hz sinusoidalt EMF av styrkan 160, 40 och 9 mT i 15 och 30 minuter. Behandlingen utfördes även I tre olika bakomliggande statiska magnetfält (SMF); ett där villkor för cyklotron-resonans för kalcium var uppfyllt (65,8 μT), ett där det ej var uppfyllt (68,5 μT), och ett där endast det geomagnetiska fältet var närvarande. Resultaten indikerar att ett bakomliggande SMF på 65,8 μT hade en signifikant inhiberande effekt på groningen av S. lycopersicum, medan det EMF'et inte visade någon påverkan på groning eller tillväxt. Det bör dock poängteras att dessa data endast är vägledande och bör valideras under bättre experimentella förutsättningar. Litteraturundersökningen visar att EMF kan ge upphov till många effekter av intresse för hortikulturell verksamhet och har potential för hortikulturell användning. De är dock svåra att förutspå och upprepa, varpå det föreslås att utförlig forskning bör bedrivas för varje enskild art och behandlingstyp innan applicering i fält. Många biologiska effekter och bakomliggande mekanismer har också beskrivits och föreslagits, men mycket är fortfarande omdebatterat och mer forskning behövs då de är nyckeln till att öka förutsägbarheten och noggrannheten av EM behandlingar. SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101) 2015 M2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8192/ |
| spellingShingle | horticulture electromagnetic treatments electromagnetic fields electric fields magnetic fields effects plants magnetoreception ion cyclotron resonance solanum lycopersicum Samuelsson, Anton Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| title | Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| title_full | Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| title_fullStr | Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| title_short | Bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| title_sort | bioelectromagnetics for improved crop productivity : an introductory review with pilot study of pre-sowing treatment of tomato |
| topic | horticulture electromagnetic treatments electromagnetic fields electric fields magnetic fields effects plants magnetoreception ion cyclotron resonance solanum lycopersicum |