Shakeel Ahmad Jatoi

Changes in germination behavior of wheat seeds exposed to magnetic field and magnetically structured water

2Plant Genetic Resources Programme, NARC, Islamabad-45500, Pakistan. 3 Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), Peshawar, Pakistan. Accepted 23 January, 2012 To study the invigoration impact of magnetized seed and water on germination, wheat seeds with low viability (45%) were subjected to magnetization treatments. Seed and water was passed through specifically designed magnetic funnels. Comparison was made between treatments and control for seed germination (%), shoot and root length (cm) and their fresh and dry weight (g). Seed germination index (SGI) was also calculated and compared. Magnetized water (structured water) was more invigorative to seed germination with linearity to number of passing as compared to seed magnetization. A 13.3% increase in germination was observed as compared to control using magnetized water, whereas increase in germination was insignificant with the seed magnetization. The interaction exhibited no effect on germination. It was concluded that wheat seeds with low vigor can be invigorated with the use of magnetized water; whereas, the potential to use magnetized seed remain to be extensively studied on larger groups of crops/samples.