Abstract
Effect of a weak permanent magnetic field (PMF) with a strength of 403 A/m on Allium cepaL. bulb sprouting and leaf growth was investigated. Two onion varieties to produce green onions (cv. Arzamasskii) and bulb onions (cv. Ryazanskii) were examined. In addition, the content of chlorophyll, carbohydrates, and protein in the leaves of the control and PMF-treated plants were determined. The plants of the control group were grown under a natural geomagnetic field. The treatment of onions with PMF accelerated sprouting and extended the length of the fourth leaf in cv. Arzamasskii as much as 40%; the first leaf in cv. Ryazanskii was lengthened by 25% with respect to its length in untreated plants. Exposure to PMF increased the number of sprouts in cv. Ryazanskii and the number of sprout bunches in cv. Arzamasskii. In addition, PMF elevated the total content of chlorophyll and protein, expressed per fresh weight of green onions, but had no effect on the total content of carbohydrates. Conversely, PMF reliably reduced the total content of chlorophyll and protein in cv. Ryazanskii. The temperature increase diminished the effects of PMF.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Novitskii, Yu.I., Parametric and Physiological Aspects of Static Magnetic Field Action on Plants, Doctoral (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Timiryazev Inst. Plant Physiol. Acad. Sci. USSR, 1984.
Novitskii, Yu.I., Strekova, V.Yu., and Tarakanova, G.A., The Effect of Static Magnetic Field on Plant Growth, Vliyanie magnitnykh polei na biologicheskie ob”ekty (Magnetic Field Influence on Organisms), Kholodov, Yu.A., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1971, pp. 69–88.
Strekova, V.Yu., Mitosis and Magnetic Field, Problemy kosmicheskoi biologii. T. 18 (The Problems of Space Biology, vol. 18), Chernigovskii, V.N., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1973, pp. 200–204.
Novitskii, Yu.I., Magnetic Field in Plant Life, Problemy kosmicheskoi biologii. T. 18 (The Problems of Space Biology, vol. 18), Chernigovskii, V.N., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1973, pp. 164–188.
Novitskii, Yu.I., Plant Response to the Magnetic Field, Reaktsiya biologicheskikh sistem na magnitnye polya (The Response of Biological Systems to Magnetic Fields), Kholodov, Yu.A., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1978, pp. 117–130.
Lebedev, S.I., Baranskii, P.I., Litvinenko, L.G., and Shiyan, L.T., Plants in Very Weak Magnetic Field, Elektronnaya obrabotka materialov, 1977, no. 3, pp. 71–73.
Novitskii, Yu.I. and Fedorova, O.E., The Response of Dark-Grown Rye Seedlings to the Weak Static Magnetic Field, Mater. 2-go Vses. soveshch. po izucheniyu vliyaniya magnitnykh polei na biologicheskie ob”ekty (Proc. 2nd All-Union Meet. Effect of Magnetic Fields on Biological Objects), Moscow: VINITI, 1969, pp. 162–163.
Novitskii, Yu.I. and Tikhomirova, E.V., The Effect of Different Strength Magnetic Fields on the Growth of Rye Coleoptile Segments, Mater. 3-go Vses. simp. Vliyanie magnitnykh polei na biologicheskie ob”ekty (Proc. 3rd All-Union Meet. Effect of Magnetic Fields on Living Organisms), Vasil'ev, A.S., Ed., Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Gos. Univ., 1975, pp. 189–190.
Nanushyan, E.R. and Murashev, V.V., The Effects of Geomagnetic Field Fluctuations upon the Changes in the Cellular Structure of Apical Meristem in Allium cepa L., Biophotonics: Non-Equilibrium and Coherent Systems in Biology, Biophysics, and Biotechnology, Moscow, 1995, pp. 477–482.
Celestre, M.R., Inflenza di un campo magnetico alternativo su autere di Allium cepa L., Sperm. Agr. (nuova ser.), 1958, vol. 12, pp. 1136–1149.
Chastokolenko, L.V. and Nemirovich-Danchenko, E.N., The Effect of the Natural and Weak Artificial Magnetic Field on Living Organisms, Mater. 2-go Vses. simp. Vliyanie orientatsii semyan v geomagnitnom pole Zemli na dinamiku prorastaniya i rost koreshkov luka (Proc. 2nd All-Union Meet. Effect of Seed Orientation in the Geomagnetic Field on Onion Seed Germination and Root Growth), Belgorod: Tr. Kursk. Gos. Pedog. Inst., 1973, vol. 22 (115), pp. 98–100.
Nemirovich-Danchenko, E.N. and Chastokolenko, L.V., The Role of GMF as the Important Ecological Factor in the Onion Seedling Response to the PMF, Mater. 3-go Vses. simp. Vliyanie magnitnykh polei na biologicheskie ob”ekty (Proc. 3rd All-Union Meet. Effect of Magnetic Fields on Living Organisms), Vasil'ev, A.S., Ed., Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Gos. Univ., 1975, pp. 186–187.
Arnon, D.J., Cooper Enzymes in Isolated Chloroplasts, Plant Physiol., 1949, vol. 24, pp. 1–15.
Rougahan, R.G. and Batt, R.D., The Glycerolipid Composition of Leaves, Phytochemistry, 1969, vol. 8, pp. 363–369.
Bradford, M.M., A Rapid and Sensitive Method for the Quantitation of Microgram Quantities of Protein Utilizing Principle of Protein-Dye Binding, Anal. Biochem., 1976, vol. 72, pp. 248–254.
Yanovskii, B.M., Zemnoi magnetizm (Magnetism of the Earth), Moscow: Gos. Izd-vo Tekhno-Teoreticheskoi Literatury, 1953.
Novitskaya, G.V., Rutskaya, L.A., and Molotkovsky, Yu.G., Age-Dependent Changes in the Lipid Composition and Membrane Activity of Bean Chloroplasts, Fiziol. Rast. (Moscow), 1977, vol. 24, pp. 35–43 (Sov. Plant Physiol., Engl. Transl.).
Litvin, V.M., Growth Response of Shielded Plants to the Weak Permanent Magnetic and Electrical Fields, Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Kiev: Inst. Bioorgan. Oil Chem., 1992.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Novitsky, Y.I., Novitskaya, G.V., Kocheshkova, T.K. et al. Growth of Green Onions in a Weak Permanent Magnetic Field. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology 48, 709–716 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012547004545
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012547004545