The influence of an electric field on the growth of soy seedlings

In this paper we report the effect of electric fields on the growth of soy seedlings. Experiments performed in a dark, constant-climate chamber show that no significant change in the length of the seedlings was produced by an electrostatic field of 3600 V/m. On the other hand, a.c. electric fields of 3600 and 1800 V/m increase the average length of the seedlings by about 12% and 8%, respectively. The analysis, obtained by examining several thousands of seedlings, cultivated in well-controlled and reproducible conditions for a period of two years, is characterized by a very high statistical significance. Even if the underlying biophysical mechanism is still unclear, the result suggests the possibility to influence plant growth by using very low-frequency electric fields. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.