Electro-Culture
In 1964, the USDA performed tests in which a negative electrode was
placed high in a tree, and the positive electrode was connected to a
nail driven into the base of the tree. Stimulation with 60 volts DC
substantially increased leaf density on electrified branches after a
month. Within a year, foliage increased 300% on those branches! (10)
Electricity also can cure trees of some diseases. A method was developed
in 1966 to treat avocado trees affected with canker and orange trees
with scaly bark. An electrode was inserted into the living cambium and
phloem layers of the tree and the current passed into the branches,
roots or soil. The treatment is best administered in the spring. The
length of treatment depends on the size and condition of the tree. New
shoots appeared after only one cycle of treatment. After the bark was
removed, the trees began to bear fruit! The period of grafting stratification
also can be shortened in this way.
The passage of an electric current modifies the physico-chemical properties
of soil. Its aggregation increases, and its permeability to moisture
improves. The content of absorbable nitrogen, phosphorus, and other
substances is increased. The pH changes. Usually, alkalinity is reduced,
and evaporation increases. Both alternating and direct electric currents
have a bacterial action which also affects the soil microflora. Up to
95% of cabbage mildew and other bacteria and fungi can be destroyed
by electrical disinfection.
Brief exposure of seeds to electric current ends their dormancy, accelerates
development throughout the period of vegetation, and ultimately increases
yields. The effect is greater with seeds that have a low rate of germination.
The metabolism of seedlings is stimulated; respiration and hydrolytic
enzyme activity is intensified for many types of plants. Lazarenko and
Gorbatovskaya reported these results:
"At the end of vegetation the experimental cotton plant possessed
twice or three times as many pods as the control plant. The mean weight
of the seeds and fiber was greater in the experimental plants also.
In the case of sugar beet the yield and sugar content were increased,
and in places near the negative pole the increase in sugar content was
particularly high. The tomato yield increased by 10-30%, and the chemical
composition of the fruit was modified. The chlorophyll content of these
plants was always greater than that of the control... Corn plants absorbed
twice as much nitrogen as control plants during the vegetative period...
The transpiration of the experimental plant was higher than that of
the control, especially in the evening...
"The stimulating action of the alternating current was greatest
when the current with density of 0.5 mA/sq cm... A direct current with
density of 0.01 mA/sq cm had approximately the same action. When these
optimal current densities were used in hotbeds, the yield of green mass
could be increased by 40%." (1)
P.V. Kravtsov, et al., reported that the population of ammonifying
bacteria (especially the sporogenous type) increases about 150% when
soil or compost is exposed to continuous low-power DC. The symbiotic
activity of nodule bacteria with bean plants was characterized by massive
nodules near the base of the root. Field experiments were conducted
on 40 hectares. The peas treated with electrified inoculant produced
34% more yield than a control crop. Carbon dioxide evolution in the
soil increased over 35%. The authors also reported that treatment of
seed with electric-spark discharge destroys microflora and activates
the germination process. (11)
Reference
The research workers, K. S. Rathore and A. Goldsworthy of the college's
department of pure and applied biology, applied direct current of about
a millionth of an ampere to cells of tobacco plants growing in laboratory
flasks....The influence of electric current on these cell cultures first
became noticeable after about 10 days and was dramatically obvious by
22 days. ''The effect was dependent on the direction of the current,''
the scientists reported. ''When the callus was made negative, the growth
rate was stimulated by about 70 percent, whereas current in the reverse
direction was slightly inhibitory.'' NYTimes
