Response of Mexican aster Cosmos bipinnatus and field mustard Sinapis arvensis to irrigation with magnetically treated water (MTW)

Abstract

The response of Mexican aster Cosmos bipinnatus (Asteraceae) and field mustard Sinapis arvensis (Brassicaceae) to magnetically treated water (MTW) from germination to flowering was studied. A magnetic treatment device with its magnetic field in the range of 3.5–136 mT was used for treating water, with tap water passing one, three or six times through the device compared with untreated water as a control. MTW affected several growth and biochemical parameters of treated plants depending on the number of passes of water. In particular, the plants of both species that were irrigated with water passing the magnetic treatment device three times showed statistically significant increases in plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plants, chlorophyll content, leaf area and plant yield compared with other treatments and untreated control plants, thus supporting an ‘optimal effect window’ for magnetic treatment of water.

Keywords::

• biochemical parameters
• growth
• magnetic treatment
• optimal effect window

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the team of Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants at the University of Oldenburg for helpful discussions and the gardeners at the Botanical Garden, University of Oldenburg for help in taking care of the study plants. Suggestions by two anonymous reviewers and the editor to improve the manuscript are gratefully acknowledged.

Additional information

Funding

This study was not supported by any commercial company selling magnetic treatment devices.