Effect of 60-Hz High Intensity Electric Fields on Living Plants

Electrical and Biological Effects of Transmission Lines: A Review.

“…Beginning in the mid-l97O's, research programs were initiated specifically to investigate the possible effects of 60-Hz electric fields on plant growth. A team of researchers from the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Pennsylvania State University studied 85 plant species grown in a laboratory while exposed to electric fields of up to 50 kV/m (Bankoske et al 1976, McKee et al 1978). This group later studied crops (alfalfa, fescue, corn, wheat) grown in a greenhouse in a 30-kV/m field (McKee 1985).…”

Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Fruit Body Formation in Cultivating Mushrooms

“…Expansion of the use of electric fields and power during cultivation has been occurring for various agricultural crops, especially in the area of horticulture. Cultivation systems have been improved through the use of high-voltage for greenhouse crops such as tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and various flowers [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The application of a pulsed high voltage to improve the yield in edible mushroom cultivation has also been attempted by some research groups.…”

Sidney-North Yuma 230-kV Transmission Line Project, Colorado and Nebraska

“…Cro__tg_p__. High electric fields (15 kV/m) have been observed to induce corona on the uppermost parts of plants (McKee, et al, 1978;Rogers et al, 1982). The induced corona causes minor damage to leaf tips.…”

“…The most extensive analysis on effects of 60-Hz electric fields on }iving plants has been done by McKee and coworkers at the Pennsylvania State University (McKee et al, 1978). In initial studies, several thousand plants from 85 different species were exposed to fields from 0 to 50 kV/m in a very controlled greenhouse environment.…”