Magnetic treatment of irrigation water and seeds in agriculture

Abstract

The aim of this review article is to expose the advantages of magnetic treatments in agriculture, and to identify the gaps that prevent their spread and/or complementary use to traditional practices. A comprehensive literature review of the last eighty years was carried out on the databases of agricultural sciences and basic sciences, using the descriptors water-physicochemical properties, bio-magnetism, crop production, and magnetic treatments. The magnetically treated water exhibits various phenomena at the molecular level, which are thought to have direct and indirect effects on growth and productivity of crops, related with a greater efficiency in irrigation and water use, modification of soil moisture profile and an optimal nutrient availability therein. Similarly, magnetic fields applied to seeds stimulate the seed germination, vigor, and plant growth rate, which influences the final net production and yield. Despite this, there is a lack of a standardized magnetic treatment for water and seeds, due to the many different methodologies evaluated in each study. However, there are already some patented available devices in the market. The technology of magnetic treatments for seeds and irrigation water has positive effects on plant productivity, it is easy to apply and have less impact on the environment compared to other practices. Moreover, an accurate modeling of the interactions between magnetic fields, water, and seed and plant physiological processes could lead to a standardization of this technique, which remedy the existing methodological gaps at this level.