Effect of magnetic field treatment on germination of some medicinal and aromatic plants

In this study, the effects of various magnetic fields (Control, 100 mT and 200 mT) on the seeds of Brassica juncea (L.) Czern., Salvia officinalis L., Satureja hortensis L., Tymus vulgaris L., Ocimum minumum L., Mentha piperita L., Hypericum perforatum L. and Prunella vulgaris L. which are potential medicinal and aromatic plant species in terms of cultivation, were examined and seed germination related characters such as germination speed and germination percentage were evaluated. As a result, based on Variance analysis and Duncan test, there is difference among the species for response to different magnetic field treatments. Regarding the average germination speed, 32.5% for 200 mT treatment, 23.3 % for 100 mT treatment, 24.1 % for control treatment were gotten, whereas these values changed as %49.2, %37.0 and %36.2 , respectively for germination percentage trait. The 200 mT treatment showed 8.4% superiority for germination speed while 13 % for germination percentage. No difference between the different magnetic field treatments were determined. Thus, this study should be repeated with new magnetic field degrees.