Effect of Low Frequency Magnetic Field on Germination of Onion (Allium cepa L.) Seeds

摘要

Commercial seed lots of onion (Allium cepa L.) of the cultivars "Octavia" and "Eureka" were soaked for 12 h in water of the temperature 20 ℃, then they were exposed to low frequency magnetic field (20 mT) for 10, 30, and 60 min. The field was generated using a standard device for magnetic stimulation VIOFOR JPS applied in human medical treatment. Next, the seeds were evaluated for energy and capacity of germination, length of the received germs as well as fresh masses of the obtained seedlings using the routine methods recommended by the International Seed Testing Association. For the seeds of the cultivar "Octavia", the field did not affect the energy of germination, however it did improve in all tested treatments their germination capacity. In the best of them (60 min), the germination capacity increased by 4.6%. For the seeds of the cultivar "Eureka", the tested field increased their energy of germination, which improves evenness of plants emergences in the field and has a significant importance for horticultural practice. When the seeds were exposed to the field for 60 min, their germination energy increased from 40% (control) to 63%. This result was accompanied by no differences in both length of germs and fresh masses of the received from them seedlings.