Enhancement of germination, growth, and photosynthesis in soybean by pre‐treatment of seeds with magnetic field

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of static magnetic fields on the seeds of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. var: JS-335) by exposing the seeds to different magnetic field strengths from 0 to 300 mT in steps of 50 mT for 30, 60, and 90 min. Treatment with magnetic fields improved germination-related parameters like water uptake, speed of germination, seedling length, fresh weight, dry weight and vigor indices of soybean seeds under laboratory conditions. Improvement over untreated control was 5-42% for speed of germination, 4-73% for seedling length, 9-53% for fresh weight, 5-16% for dry weight, and 3-88% and 4-27% for vigor indices I and II, respectively. Treatment of 200 mT (60 min) and 150 mT (60 min), which were more effective than others in increasing most of the seedling parameters, were further explored for their effect on plant growth, leaf photosynthetic efficiency, and leaf protein content under field conditions. Among different growth parameters, leaf area, and leaf fresh weight showed maximum enhancement (more than twofold) in 1-month-old plants. Polyphasic chlorophyll a fluorescence (OJIP) transients from magnetically treated plants gave a higher fluorescence yield at the J-I-P phase. The total soluble protein map (SDS-polyacrylamide gel) of leaves showed increased intensities of the bands corresponding to a larger subunit (53 KDa) and smaller subunit (14 KDa) of Rubisco in the treated plants. We report here the beneficial effect of pre-sowing magnetic treatment for improving germination parameters and biomass accumulation in soybean.

Assessment of impact of solar UV components on growth and antioxidant enzyme activity in cotton plant

“…Area of leaves was taken by pressing the blotted dry leaf on a graph paper (mm) and tracing the exact outline. The area was measured by weighing the graph cuttings of leaves (Shine et al 2011). The mean of five leaves was taken as the average value.…”

Stimulatory Effect of the Magnetic Treatment Prior to Sowing on the Germination and Initial Growth of Triticale Seeds

“…Florez et al (2007) observed an stimulation on the growth of maize seeds exposed to 125 and 250 mT stationary magnetic field. Shine et al (2011) found that exposure to magnetic fields improved parameters like water uptake, leaf photosynthetic efficiency and leaf protein content. Although the mechanisms at work in plants and other living systems exposed to a magnetic field are still not well known, several theories have been proposed, including biochemical changes or altered enzyme activities (Phirke et al, 1996).…”

Prooxidant–antioxidant system and change of alkaloids level in jimson weed (Datura stramonium L.) under the influence of static magnetic field

“…The magnetic field with intensity of 150 and 200 mT and duration of exposure of one hour stimulates the formation of reactive oxygen in cells of soybean [Shine et al 2012]. Increased level of active forms of oxygen leads to the increase of antioxidant system activity which is the early response of the plants under the stress factor effect [Barаn 1998, Sahebjamei et al 2007, Shine et al 2011]. This mechanism is the basic of the plants adaptations to the external factors [Mamenko et al 2014].…”

“…The magnetic field can cause genes disruption, structural changes of the protein molecules and enzymes that have a negative effect on antioxidant system of the cells [Barаn et al1998, Shine et al 2011.…”