The effect of magnetic treatments on seed germination of vegetable species

This work was carried out to test magnetic field treatment on germination percentages of 9 different vegetable seeds (tomato, pepper, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, carrot, leek, aubergine and celery). Treatment was carried out 5, 10, 15 minutes with 15 mT on dry seeds. Germination were conducted according to ISTA rules. The best treatment periods were repeated on 5 minutes (pepper, tomato, onion) and 15 minutes (cauliflower, cabbage, carrot). Treatment increased seed germination in between 8 and 14%. The highest difference was observed in onion seed as 14% and the lowest in tomato and cabbage as 8%. The effect of the best treatment duration was repeated in 6 species and subsequently, not only germination but also shoot, root length were also measured. Shoot length in treated and control seeds were changed in between 1.4 and 0.2 cm/plant, root length were 3.5 and 0.5 cm/plant. The maximum benefit was obtained in tomato as 1.4 cm difference in shoot, and in cabbage as 3.5 cm in root length. Treatment was not affected on seed water uptake. It can be concluded that electromagnetic field treatment can be an alternative physical treatment to improve seed germination percentages.