Effect of Alternating Magnetic Field on Plant Growth

This paper describes the effect of alternating magnetic fields on plant germination. Experiments were conducted utilizing various frequencies and two states of polarity.Electromagnetic coils were used to generate the fields and 'Komatsuna' plants were chosen as subjects. The frequency was varied from 1 to 1000 Hz,at a fixed intensity of 5 Gauss. The magnetic polarity was controlled by reversing the current direction. Measured parameter was the germination rate. The results indicated that magnetic fields do influence plant germination, and that frequency of the fields is a more important factor in germination rates than polarity. Maximum germination rates,which were 20% higher than control rates,were obtained at around 10 Hz.