Investigation the Effects of Magnetic Field Intensity and Duration on Physiological Traits of Tomato Seedlings

Subject Areas : Cultivation pattern optimization

Khadijeh Keley ¹ , Ali Gholami ^{2 *} , Ebrahem Panahpour ³ , Mahdi Nourzadeh Hadad ⁴

1 - Ph.D Student of Soil Science, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
2 - Department of Soil Science, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
3 - گروه خاکشناسی، واحد اهواز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، اهواز، ایران.
4 - Nuclear Agriculture Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Karaj, Iran

Received: 2025-03-10 Accepted : 2025-09-15 Published : 2025-11-10

Keywords: Tomato seedling, plant growth, magnetic field intensity and duration, physiological traits, seedling,

Abstract :

Introduction: Climate changes have led to decreased food security indices and soil fertility, significantly impacting the agricultural sector. Given that a large part of Iran is covered by arid climate, the country's food security needs face serious challenges amid climate change. On the other hand, repeated and excessive use of chemical fertilizers in recent years has caused environmental problems such as water pollution and degradation of valuable soil resources. Therefore, the use of new and environmentally friendly techniques can be considered as adaptation strategies to these conditions and improvements in environmental conditions. One such novel method is the use of magnetic fields in agriculture. Previous research has shown that exposing seeds and plants to magnetic fields induces effects on the plant's metabolic processes. Accordingly, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of magnetic field intensity and duration on the germination and physiological traits of tomato plants.

Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted in a research greenhouse located in Isfahan. The study was designed as a completely randomized design in a split-plot arrangement. Treatments included exposing seeds to a constant magnetic field intensity of 120, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 240 millitesla for durations of 20, 15, 10, and 5 minutes per intensity, alongside a control (no magnetic exposure). Measured traits included total seedling length, stem diameter, root length, leaf chlorophyll content, fresh and dry weights of the whole seedling, root, and stem.

Results and Discussion: Results showed that magnetic field intensity and exposure duration significantly (at 1% probability level) affected the traits studied. Treatment T10B240 caused a sharp decrease in dry stem weight, while T15B40 significantly increased this trait by more than 34% compared to the control. Additionally, the highest fresh and dry root weights were observed in treatments T15B40 and T10B240, respectively. Performance of treatment T20B15 was similar to T15B40, indicating that increasing exposure time with lower magnetic field intensity can yield comparable improvements in root conditions. Seedling length was 24.32 cm and 22.4 cm in treatments T15B40 and T20B15, respectively, compared to 13.83 cm for T10B240 and 17.66 cm in the control. Stem diameter measurements for treatments T15B40, T20B15, T10B240, and control were 2.91 mm, 2.75 mm, 0.227 mm, and 1.95 mm, respectively. Chlorophyll content showed variable results depending on magnetic field intensity and duration, with the best increases observed in T15B40 and T20B15, and the lowest values under 240 millitesla exposure for more than 5 minutes.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that magnetic field intensities above 40 millitesla did not produce favorable results; notably, at 240 millitesla, many physiological traits of tomato seedlings decreased significantly compared to the control. Therefore, applying a magnetic field of low intensity at 15 minutes exposure can act as a non-invasive and non-destructive growth stimulant for tomato plants.

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