Open AccessEnhanced seedling germination and growth of sorghum through pre-sowing seed magnetic field treatment
Author(s) -
Anne Nurbaity,
Anne Nuraini,
E. Agustine,
Muhammad Amir Solihin,
Asep Setiawan,
Amin Mbusango
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/393/1/012101
Subject(s) - seedling , germination , sowing , sorghum , agronomy , seed treatment , biology , horticulture , crop productivity , crop
One of the emerging topics in agriculture is application of biophysical method such as the use of magnetic field (MF) to treat seeds for improved plants production. An experiment has been carried out to determine the effect of MF exposure on sorghum seeds and its subsequent growth in soil. The treatments were different strength of MF (control, 1 mT, 6 mT) and exposure duration (5, 10, 15 min). The magnetically treated seeds showed higher seed germination percentage, vigour index, seed germination index, seedling growth, plant growth and chlorophyll content compared to non-magnetically treated seeds. The best duration of MF exposure was 15 minutes, either at MF strength 1 mT or 6 mT. It is suggested that pre-sowing MF treatment has the potential to improve crop productivity through the enhancement of germination, seedling emergence, and growth of plants.