Bioelectromagnetics 29:571^578 (2008)

Exposure of Seeds to Static Magnetic Field

Enhances Germination and Early Growth
Characteristics in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Ananta Vashisth1* and Shantha Nagarajan2
1
Division of Agricultural Physics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute,
New Delhi 110012, India
2
Nuclear Research Laboratory, Indian Agricultural Research Institute,
New Delhi 110012, India
Seeds of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were exposed in batches to static magnetic fields of strength
from 0 to 250 mT in steps of 50 mT for 1–4 h in steps of 1 h for all fields. Results showed that magnetic
field application enhanced seed performance in terms of laboratory germination, speed of germination,
seedling length and seedling dry weight significantly compared to unexposed control. However, the
response varied with field strength and duration of exposure without any particular trend. Among the
various combinations of field strength and duration, 50 mT for 2 h, 100 mT for 1 h and 150 mT for 2 h
exposures gave best results. Exposure of seeds to these three magnetic fields improved seed coat
membrane integrity as it reduced the electrical conductivity of seed leachate. In soil, seeds exposed to
these three treatments produced significantly increased seedling dry weights of 1-month-old plants.
The root characteristics of the plants showed dramatic increase in root length, root surface area and
root volume. The improved functional root parameters suggest that magnetically treated chickpea
seeds may perform better under rainfed (un-irrigated) conditions where there is a restrictive soil
moisture regime. Bioelectromagnetics 29:571–578, 2008.
2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Key words: seedling vigour; field emergence index; root characteristics; seed leachate
conductivity

INTRODUCTION [2002] observed that the magnetic field stimulated the

Pre-sowing seed treatment including chemical
and physical treatments like electrical, microwave and
irradiation are known to improve seed performance.
Physical methods are not only cost effective, they also
significantly improve the yield without adversely
affecting the environment. They influence the physio-
logical and biochemical process in the seeds, and
thereby contribute to greater vigour and improved crop
stand. Therefore, physical presowing seed treatment for
enhancing the seed performance, if standardized, can
lead to commercial application. Magnetic seed treat-
ment is one of the physical presowing seed treatments
that have been reported to enhance the performance of
crop plants. Alexander and Doijode [1995] noted that
aged onion and rice seeds exposed to a weak electro-
magnetic field for 12 h increased the germination, shoot
and root length of seedlings. Celestino et al. [2000]
reported enhanced germination and growth of Quercus
suber seedlings when exposed to chronic EM field.
Harichand et al. [2002] reported that exposure of
magnetic field (10 mT; 40 h) increased plant height,
seed weight per spike and yield of wheat. Aladjadjiyan
shoot development of maize and led to an increase in
germinating energy, germination, fresh weight and
shoot length. Growth of the germinated Vicia faba
seedlings was enhanced by the application of power
frequency magnetic fields (100 mT) that was supported
by increased mitotic index and 3H-thymidine uptake
[Rajendra et al., 2005]. In broad bean and pea cultivars
the magnetic stimulation of seeds improved the
sprouting and emergence of seed and resulted in
higher pod number and seed yield [Podlesny et al.,
2004, 2005]. Galland and Pazur [2005] reported the
————— —
Grant sponsor: PG school, IARI, New Delhi.
*Correspondence to: Ananta Vashisth, Division of Agricultural
Physics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
110012, India. E-mail: khaliananta@rediffmail.com
Received for review 9 August 2007; Final revision received
21 February 2008
DOI 10.1002/bem.20426
Published online 30 May 2008 in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com).

5 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

572 Vashisth and Nagarajan

unsystematic manner in which the research on magne-

toresponse in biology has been carried out in the
past and explains presently accepted mechanisms of
magnetoreception.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the
world’s most important but less-studied leguminous
food crop with nearly 10 m ha grown across the
Americas, the Mediterranean basin, East Africa, the
Middle East, Asia and Australia [FAOSTAT, 2004]. It is
generally grown without irrigation, planted in the post
rainy season, surviving until harvest on progressively
declining residual soil moisture. Therefore, root
traits are the most important components of drought
tolerance in chickpea. Here, we report the results of a
study undertaken to standardize the field strength and
duration for maximum enhancement of germination
characteristics and the effect of a few chosen magnetic
fields on field emergence and root characteristics of
1-month-old chickpea plants.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant Material
The breeder seed of chickpea (Var. Pusa-1053)
was supplied by the Division of Genetics, Indian
Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.
Seeds without visible defects, insect damage and
malformation were selected and stored in desiccators
having anhydrous calcium chloride. Seed moisture
content was determined by oven drying seeds at 95 8C to
constant weight [Walters, 1988]. Moisture content (%)
was calculated as [(W1
W2/W2)]  100, where W1 was
the initial weight of the seed and W2 was the final weight
of the seed after drying. The moisture content of the
seed lot was 7% at the start of the experiment.
Magnetic Field Generation and
Seed Treatment
An electromagnetic field generator ‘‘Testron EM-
20’’ with variable horizontal magnetic field strength
(50–500 mT) with a gap of 5 cm between pole pieces
was fabricated (Fig. 1). The pole pieces are cylindrical
in shape with 9 cm in diameter, 16 cm in length. The
number of turns per coil is 3000 and the resistance of the
coil is 16 Ohm. A DC power supply (80 V/10 A) with
continuously variable output current was used for the
electromagnet. A digital Gauss meter model DGM-30
(Testron Instruments, New Delhi, India) operating on
the principle of Hall effect monitored the field strength
produced in the pole gap. The probe made of Indium
Arsenide crystal and encapsulated to a non-magnetic
sheet of 5 mm  4 mm  1 mm could measure 0–2 T
with full-scale range in increments of 5 mT.
Fig. 1. Electromagnetic field generator.
Chickpea seeds were exposed to a magnetic field
of 50–250 mT in a cylindrical shaped sample holder
of 42 cm3 capacity, made from a non-magnetic thin
transparent plastic sheet. 100 visibly sound, mature,
healthy seeds were treated for various durations ranging
from 1 to 4 h. The required strength of the magnetic field
was obtained by regulating the current in the coils of the
electromagnet. A Gauss meter was used to measure the
strength of the magnetic field between the poles. At low
field (50 mT), from center to end of the poles, the
variation was 0.6% in the horizontal direction and 1.6%
in the vertical direction of the applied field. At high field
(250 mT), they were 0.4% and 1.2% of the applied field,
respectively.
Seed Germination
Seed germination was determined by following
the method of ISTA [1985]. Four replications each with
25 seeds were placed between two layers of moist
germination paper, rolled carefully and wrapped in a
sheet of wax paper to reduce surface evaporation. They
were placed in the germination incubator at 20 8C in
an upright position. After 8 days, germinated seeds
were grouped as normal, abnormal seedling, fresh un-
germinated and dead seeds. Germination percentage
was calculated based on normal seedlings. Ten such
seedlings from each replicate were randomly taken for
measuring shoot and root length in cm. Subsequently,
they were dried overnight in an oven at 90 8C and the dry
weight of these seedlings was measured. Seedling
vigour was calculated following Abdul-Baki and
Anderson [1973] as
vigour index I ¼ germination%  seedling length
ðroot þ shootÞ
vigour index II ¼ germination%  seedling dry weight
ðroot þ shootÞ

Bioelectromagnetics
 Seeds of Chickpea Exposed to Magnetic Field 573

Eighty chickpea seeds split into four equal plot and duration as sub-plot. The significant level of
replications were placed in moistened filter paper in a difference of all measured traits among magnetic
petri dish and kept in an incubator at 20 8C. To calculate fields, duration of exposure and their interaction were
the speed of germination X, daily germination count of calculated. For green house study, one-way analysis
the incubated seeds was taken until no more seeds of variance was carried out following a randomized
germinated and was calculated as complete block design, and the least significant dif-
ference (LSD) among treatments for each trait was
number of seeds germinated calculated.
X¼ þ 
day of the first count
number of seeds germinated
þ RESULTS
day of the final count
Four replications each with 25 seeds were soaked Seed Germination
in 25 ml of distilled water at 20 8C for 4 h. A control with To analyze the effect of different magnetic fields,
distilled water (but without seeds) was also taken. The average values of different durations of exposure of
electrical conductance of the seed leachate decanted each magnetic field were compared. Similarly, the
in a 50 ml beaker was measured at room temperature average values of different magnetic fields of each
[ISTA, 1985] using a digital conductivity meter exposure time were compared to determine the effect
(Systronics, Ahmedabad, India). of time of exposure on germination characteristics
Based on experimental data, 50 mT for 2 h, 100 mT (Table 1). Exposure of chickpea seeds to different
for 1 h and 150 mT for 2 h exposure were adjudged to be magnetic field intensities significantly increased all the
the best to improve germination and vigour. Therefore, germination-related characteristics such as germination
these treatments were further examined for their effect percentage, speed of germination, shoot and root
on emergence in soil and root characteristics. Line length, seedling dry weight and calculated vigour
sowing of 100 magnetically treated and untreated seeds indices. The improvement over untreated control seeds
in four replications (25 seeds each) was carried out in was 5–11% for germination, 8–26% for speed of
a green house plot of 4 m  1 m size. Irrigation was germination, 12–34% for shoot length, 58–90% for
provided as and when required. Daily count of the root length, 38–57% for total seedling length and 25–
number of plants that emerged was taken and the field 47% for seedling dry weight. The calculated vigour
emergence index was calculated following Mock and indices I and II also increased by 46–71% and 32–58%,
Skrdla [1978]: respectively. The percent enhancement of different
parameters was not linearly related to the field strength
emergence index of the magnetic field. Among the various magnetic
X ðplants emerged on a dayÞðdays after plantingÞ treatments, 50 mT; 2 h, 100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h
¼ were more effective than others in increasing most of
total plants emerged
the seedling parameters. Magnetic field exposure time
From each replication, five plants were used to quantify of 1–4 h significantly increased germination character-
the shoot height, number of branches per plant, shoot istics irrespective of the field strength. There was no
and root dry weight. consistent superiority of a particular duration over
Root samples were washed carefully by a gentle others. However, exposure for 1 and 2 h duration was
stream of water to separate the root system from the more effective compared to 3 and 4 h in enhancing the
adhering soil particles. Then, this root mass was air- seed germination characters.
dried prior to scanning and image analysis using a The interaction of magnetic field and duration of
root scanner (LA 1600). The root morphology (total exposure are given in Figure 2a–h. The germination
root length, root surface area, root thickness and root percent enhanced in 2 h of magnetic field exposure in
volume) was completed using the Rhizo program from most of the field strengths. Exposure for 3 h reduced the
Regent Instruments (Quebec, Canada) and observations effect in some cases and again there was an increase in
made on four replicated samples. germination for 4 h of exposure. Speed of germination
was significantly higher than the control in most of the
Statistical Analysis treatments except for 200 mT for 1 and 2 h exposure and
The data was analyzed using the software SPSS 250 mT. Shoot length showed significant response for
10.0. For the laboratory experiment, two-factor analysis 50 mT; 2 h, 100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h fields and the
of variance was performed on a split plot randomized shoot length was higher in all cases except for 100 mT
complete block design, keeping magnetic field as main for 3 and 4 h exposure, 150 mT for 4 h and 200 mT for
Bioelectromagnetics
574 Vashisth and Nagarajan
TABLE 1. Effect of Pre-germination Exposure of Different Strengths of Static Magnetic Field and its Duration on Germination
Characteristics of Chickpea

Seedling length (cm) Vigour Index

Speed of Seedling
Parameter Germination (%) germination Shoot Root Total dry wt. (g) I II
Magnetic field (mT)
Control 85.0 (67.2) 21.39 7.77 7.42 15.19 0.036 1297 3.10
50 92.3** (74.2) 26.94** 10.41** 13.50** 23.91** 0.052** 2207** 4.82**
100 94.0** (76.4) 26.58** 9.42** 14.12** 23.54** 0.049** 2214** 4.64**
150 91.5** (74.3) 26.32** 8.74** 13.50** 22.24** 0.045** 2043** 4.10**
200 90.3** (73.4) 25.15** 9.52** 12.52** 22.04** 0.053** 1987** 4.75**
250 90.0** (72.5) 23.25NS 9.39** 11.71** 21.10** 0.049** 1895** 4.39**
LSD at 5% 3.46 1.87 0.48 0.93 0.82 0.002 101.40 0.26
Duration of exposure (h)
1 92.6** (74.7) 25.46** 10.02** 13.04** 23.06** 0.052** 2138** 4.78**
2 92.2** (75.0) 25.77** 10.14** 13.43** 23.57** 0.053** 2177** 4.90**
3 89.8** (72.8) 25.45** 8.73** 13.01** 21.74** 0.046** 1956** 4.14**
4 91.8** (74.2) 25.91** 9.08** 12.80** 21.88** 0.047** 2008** 4.34**
LSD at 5% 3.09 1.67 0.43 0.83 0.73 0.002 90.70 0.24
Values in the first half of the table are the mean of different durations of exposure for a particular magnetic field, and those in the second half
of the table give the mean of different magnetic fields for a particular exposure time. LSD: least significant difference. NS: not significant at
5% level; **significant at 1% level of probability. Values in parentheses are arcsine transformed value.

3 h exposure. A similar response for root length was
observed in 50 mT; 2 h, 100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h
fields. The root length and total seedling length was
significantly higher than control in all treatments. For
seedling dry weight, significant positive values were
observed at 50 mT; 2 h, 100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h.
Similarly, seedling dry weight was significantly higher
in all cases except for 150 mT for 3 and 4 h exposure.
Seedling vigour I based on seedling length and
germination percent showed a similar trend as seedling
shoot and root length. Seedling vigour I was signifi-
cantly higher than the control in all of the treatments.
50 mT; 2 h, 100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h fields gave
best results compared to other magnetic fields. Seedling
vigour based on seedling dry weight and germination
percent was also significantly higher than the control
in all of the treatments except for 150 mT for 3 and 4 h
exposure. Seedling vigour II exhibited highest values
for 50 mT for 2 h, 100 mT for 1 h and 150 mT for 2 h
exposure.
From the analysis of the data, it is surmised that
when all the germination characteristics were taken into
consideration, best results were noted in 50 mT; 2 h,
100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h magnetic fields. Hence,
further experiments were conducted with these mag-
netic treatments and the effect on field emergence
characteristics, root and shoot parameters of 1-month-
old plants was studied.
In magnetically treated seeds, there was signifi-
cant reduction (5–13%) in the electrical conductivity
of the seed leachate (Table 2). The effects of a
few combinations of magnetic field and duration of
Bioelectromagnetics
exposure on speed of germination and seedling vigour
are shown in Figure 3.
Germination in Soil
The field emergence index, which is a measure of
speed of germination in soil, though not significant,
increased marginally by 3% compared to control in
all magnetic treatments. There was no significant effect
of magnetic treatment on percent field emergence.
However, all seedling parameters such as shoot height,
shoot and root dry weight and root to shoot ratio of the
1-month-old seedling of treated plants exhibited highly
significant increases over the control (Fig. 4). Shoot
height increased by 17% in 50 mT; 2 h and 30% in
100 mT; 1 h. Root length increased by 23% in 50 mT; 2 h
and 38% in 100 mT; 1 h. Total seedling length increased
by 12% in 50 mT; 2 h and 28% in 100 mT; 1 h. Shoot dry
weight increased by about 49% in 100 mT; 1 h to 53%
in 50 mT; 2 h and that of root dry weight by about
three times over the control in these treatments.
Because of a dramatic increase in root weight, the root
to shoot ratio was also doubled compared to control
in the treated plants. The number of branches also
increased significantly (25%) in the treated plants.
The root characteristics of 1-month-old treated
plants showed interesting results (Fig. 5). Total root
length, root surface area, projected area and root
volume doubled in plants raised from magnetically
exposed seeds compared to the control (Table 3).
However, in the case of average root diameter, the
increase over control was significant only for 100 mT;
1 h treatment.
 Seeds of Chickpea Exposed to Magnetic Field 575

Fig. 2. Effect of different doses and durations of magnetic field exposure of chickpea seeds (var.
Pusa-1053) ona: percentgermination, b: speedofgermination, c: shootlengthof 8-day-oldseedling,
d: root length of 8-day-old seedling, e: total seedling length, f: seedling dry weight, g: vigour index I
and h: vigour index II.

DISCUSSION cally treated seed (180 mT) absorbed more moisture,

Exposure of chickpea seeds to different magnetic
fields showed an overall stimulating effect with respect
to all germination characteristics (Table 1). Such
enhanced performance of seeds in their germination
characteristics have been reported in other crops [Kato,
1988; Aladjadjiyan, 2002; Florez et al., 2007]. How-
ever, the mechanism for such an increase has not been
completely understood. In wheat, Pittman and Ormrod
[1970] reported that the seedlings grown from magneti-
respired more slowly, released less heat energy and
grew faster than the untreated controls. In soybean,
Kavi [1977] observed that seeds exposed to magnetic
field of 300 mT had increased capacity to absorb
moisture. The increased physiological activity due to
greater absorption of moisture by treated seeds may be
responsible for the overall increase in seedling length,
seedling dry weight and vigour indices in our study.
However, some fields were more effective than others
and there was no linear increase with increase in field
Bioelectromagnetics
576 Vashisth and Nagarajan

Electrical conductivity

NS: not significant at 5% level of probability; *significant at 5% level of probability; **significant at 1% level of probability. Values in parentheses are arcsine transformed value.
(m S/cm/25 seeds)

0.909**
0.861**
0.927*
0.055
0.985
Shoot dry weight
Root dry weight/

0.208**
0.233**
0.216**
0.106

0.025
TABLE 2. Effect of Magnetic Field on Emergence and Growth Characteristics of Chickpea in Soil Under Green House Condition

weight (g)
Root dry

0.090**
0.098**
0.093**
0.030

0.007

Fig. 3. Effect of pre-germination exposure of chickpea seeds on

weight (g)
Shoot dry

speed ofgermination and seedling vigour.

0.431**
0.422**
0.430**
0.282

0.020

strength. In the same way, the response to exposure time

also varied without any relation between improvement
in seedling parameters and time of exposure. However,
No./Plant
Branch

Florez et al. [2007] reported that the accumulation

0.385
5**
5**
5**
4

of dry weight of 10 days old seedlings from maize

seeds exposed to magnetic field of 125 mT increased
logarithmically with duration of magnetic field induc-
Root length

tion. Seeds in their study were of a different crop and

18.11**
20.17**
19.28**
2.484
(cm)
14.64

were imbibed in water before the exposure to magnetic

field whereas dry seeds were exposed to magnetic field
in our study.
The interaction of magnetic field and exposure
height (cm)

time indicated that certain combinations of magnetic

17.82**
19.77**
19.50**
0.896
Shoot

15.22

field and duration like 50, 100 and 150 mT for 1 and
2 h were highly effective in enhancing most of the
germination characteristics compared to other combi-
nations (Fig. 2a–h). This observation suggests that
emergence (%)

85 NS (67.3)
85 NS (67.3)
89 NS (71.2)

there may be a resonance-like phenomena which

84 (66.5)
Field

7.17
emergence index

69.8 NS

69.6 NS
70.2 NS
Field

3.96
66.9

LSD at 5%
field (mT)
Magnetic

100 (1 h)
150 (2 h)
50 (2 h)
Control

Fig. 4. Effect of pre-germination exposure of chickpea on growth

of1-month-old plants.

Bioelectromagnetics

Fig. 5. Effect of pre-germination exposure of chickpea seeds on
root growth of1-month-old plants.
increases the internal energy of the seed that occurs
when there is an appropriate combination of magnetic
field and exposure time. Kavi [1983] reported that in
ragi (Eleusine coracana Gaertn) seeds, exposure to
100 mT magnetic field changed its internal potential
energy and suggested that by selecting a suitable
combination of magnetic field and exposure time, it
may be possible to get higher yields. Also, it appears
that there is a window at 150 mTand 3 h exposure where
the magnetic field negatively interacts and reduces the
seedling traits compared to untreated controls.
The reduced conductivity of leachate from seeds
exposed to 50 mT; 2 h, 100 mT; 1 h and 150 mT; 2 h
fields compared to control (Table 2) indicated a greater
seed coat membrane integrity. However, exposure of
barley seeds to 37.5 mT field had no effect on leakage of
cellular electrolytes [Gusta et al., 1978]. In soil, percent
emergence was not affected by magnetic field exposure,
although the field emergence index increased margin-
ally compared to control. This is in accordance with our
laboratory observation where the speed of germination
was increased due to magnetic treatment. Similar
enhancement in speed of germination due to magnetic
field exposure of seeds has been reported in maize
[Florez et al., 2007], in rice [Carbonell et al., 2000], and
in wheat [Bhatnagar and Dev, 1977]. Podlesny et al.
[2004, 2005] confirmed the positive effect of the
magnetic treatment (30 and 85 mT) on the germination
and emergence of both broad bean and pea cultivars. As
a result of magnetic treatment, plant emergence was
TABLE 3. Effect of Magnetic Field on Rooting Characteristics of 1-Month-Old Chickpea Plants Grown in Soil Under Green
House Condition
Magnetic field (mT) Total length (cm) Surface area (cm2)
Control 94.1 8.29
50 (2 h) 197.7** 17.88**
100 (1 h) 170.9** 16.44**
150 (2 h) 207.0** 18.38**
LSD at 5% 13.9 1.32
NS: not significant at 5% level of probability; *significant at 5% level of probability; **significant at 1% level of probability.
Seeds of Chickpea Exposed to Magnetic Field 577
more uniform and emerged 2–3 days earlier than the
control. In these crops, seed yield due to pre-sowing
treatment of seeds with a magnetic field increased as a
result of a higher number of pods per plant and
lesser plant mortality during the growing season. In
chickpea, correlation between the number of primary
and secondary branches and grain yield per plant has
been reported [Katiyar, 2003] and the increased number
of branches in plants from magnetically treated seeds
has the potential to increase seed yield of chickpea.
A most useful observation was the significant
increase in shoot and root weights of 1-month-old
plants and the greatly improved root characteristics in
the plants from magnetically treated seeds. When large
numbers of Ethiopian land races were evaluated for
drought tolerance, it was found that the tolerant
genotypes produced more root weight, root volume
and rooting depth compared to susceptible check
[Anbessa and Bejiga, 2004]. Serraj et al. [2004] also
suggested that deep and prolific root systems are
associated with enhanced tolerance to drought in
chickpea. Hence, the greatly improved root character-
istics of plants from magnetically treated seeds may
play a role in drought tolerance of the crop. Rajendra
et al. [2005] have observed a significant increase in
mitotic index as well as 3H-thymidine incorporation
into DNA in seeds of Vicia faba exposed to 100 mT
power frequency electromagnetic field. These are clear
indications of enhancement of growth of germinated
seedlings exposed to magnetic field. It is postulated
that the ion-cyclotron resonance may interfere with the
Ca2þ ion sequestering and thereby enable the increase
in free Ca2þ concentration in the system. The increased
Ca2þ concentration may signal the cell to enter into
early mitotic cycle. Also, increased uptake of Ca2þ ions
in rice seedlings grown from seeds exposed to pulsed
magnetic field was found responsible for better leaf
growth, meristematic tissues in stems and roots
[Saktheeswari and Subrahmanyam, 1989].
Exposure of dry chickpea seeds to certain
combinations of static magnetic field and durations of
exposure significantly increased laboratory germina-
tion and field emergence characteristics. The root
Projected area (cm2) Volume (cm3) Average diameter (mm)
2.64 0.053 0.280
5.69** 0.123** 0.300NS
5.23** 0.130** 0.318**
5.85** 0.130** 0.282NS
0.42 0.015 0.022
Bioelectromagnetics
578 Vashisth and Nagarajan
characteristics of the plants showed a two-fold increase
in root length, root surface area and root volume of
1-month-old plants. The improved root parameters
suggested that this technique may be profitably
exploited as chickpea is generally grown without
irrigation and enhanced root growth will be useful in
extracting moisture from deeper layers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks are due to Project Director NRL and Head,
Agricultural Physics Division for the facilities.
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