Enhancing the Yield Potential of Soybean after Magneto-Priming: Detailed Study on Its Relation to Underlying Physiological Processes

Abstract

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important proteins and oilseed crops in the world due to a boom in its demand. In order to meet this demand, various modern agricultural methods are being employed, of which magneto-priming (treatment of seeds with magnetic field) is becoming the most popular technique owing to its efficiency and eco-friendly nature to improve seed vigour, growth and yield of soybean plants. Therefore, we conducted a field experiment to evaluate the impact of magneto-priming of seeds with static magnetic field on soybean var. JS-335 plants. We used static magnetic field (SMF) strengths of 150 mT (1 h) and 200 mT (1 h) for this study. Both the SMF treatments improved growth (shoot as well as root growth parameters), carbon fixation (PSII efficiency, gas exchange parameters, carbonic anhydrase activity) and nitrogen fixation (leghemoglobin content, total protein content, nitrate reductase activity). We observed an association between these parameters which contributed to biomass accumulation and hence to the enhanced crop yield. In addition, reduced levels of ASA (reduced form of ascorbate), MDA (malondialdehyde) and antioxidant enzymes suggest that magneto-priming alleviates oxidative stress in SMF-primed soybean plants. Field strength of 200 mT (1 h) proved to be more effective in improving all the parameters as compared to 150 mT. Our study suggested that pre-sowing SMF treatment can be efficaciously employed for improving the growth, development and production of soybean.