Optimum D.C. electric field strength for growth acceleration of thale cress

Abstract

We have studied the influence of D.C. electric field on plant growth. Raphanus sativus longipinnatus (daikon radish) and Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) were used as sample. Thale cress is widely used as one of the model organisms for studying plant sciences, because its genome has been already sequenced. In the previous paper, we had reported the following results for daikon radish: (a) The application of D.C. electric field improves the seed germination rate. (b) The D.C. electric field increases the length and the weight. (c) The D.C. electric field encourages the consumption of substances which is stored in the seed. The following results had been also reported for thale cress: (d) The D.C. electric field accelerates the seed germination. (e) The D.C. electric field exerts no effect on seed germination when the electric potential of the thale cress is grounded. It is expected that there is an optimum strength of D.C. electric field for plant growth acceleration. As the first step to seek the optimum strength, we adopted 2.5kV/m and 10.0kV/m. Namely, the seeds of thale cress were cultivated under D.C. electric field of 2.5kV/m and 10.0kV/m. As a result, the growth of the sample was more promoted by 10.0kV/m D.C. field than by 2.5kV/m D.C. field.