MAGNETISM AND PLANT GROWTH: I. EFFECT ON GERMINATION AND EARLY GROWTH OF CEREAL SEEDS

Abstract

Seeds of Chinook wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Compana barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), Victory oats (Avena sativa L.), common fall rye (Secale cereale L.), and Redwood flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) germinated faster and grew more in 48 hours when they were oriented longitudinally parallel to the lines of force in a magnetic field than when orientated horizontally at right angles to those lines of force. Growth responses of approximately the same nature and magnitude were obtained when the orientation treatment during germination was relative to the direction of the lines of force of either the geomagnetic or an introduced magnetic field.