Magnetic Fields ​Have No Significant Effect 

on Primary Growth​ of ​Cucumis sativus  

Isabella Man 
B Block 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  

 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 

● 10 clay pots: 6 inch diameter, 5.7 inch height 

● 20 ceramic block magnets by Master Magnetics, Inc.: 4.76 cm x 22.3 mm x 
9.53 mm, 3.4 Mega Gauss Oersted  
● Soil: Miracle-Gro Potting Mix 
● Cucumis sativus​ seeds: Ferry-Morse Seed Company 

Procedure 

I prepared 10 clay pots ​(6 inches in diameter and 5.7 inches in height)​ for planting 
by distributing equal amounts of ​Miracle-Gro Potting Mix​ in each pot to form a soil bed 
of about 4 inches deep. In each pot 6 cucumber seeds ​(from Ferry-Morse Seed Company)  
(one inch deep) were placed in the center. In 5 of the pots (experimental group) 4 ​(4.76 
cm x 22.3 mm x 9.53 mm, 3.4 Mega Gauss Oersted) ​ceramic block magnets ​(by Master 
Magnetics)​ were arranged equidistant from each other along the inner edge of the pot. 
In the other 5 pots (control group) no magnets were added. All 10 pots were stored in the 
same area outdoors where there was exposure to direct sunlight. Each day of the study, 
all the pots were watered with 1.5 cups of cold tap water. For each pot, I recorded the 
number of seeds that germinated and the plant height (measured by ​the length of the 
original stem, ignoring additional stems that branch off of it​) in centimeters on a daily 
basis. The observation period lasted for 8 weeks. 

I calculated the percentage of the seeds that germinated for each group. The 
average height of the plants for each of the groups at the conclusion of the observation 
period was calculated. ​ I also calculated the standard deviation of each group.​ ​I also 
 

calculated the standard error to see how accurate the estimation of the mean growth was 
for each experimental group. 

RESULTS 

There were 2 study groups: control group (Figure 1) and experimental group (Figure 2). 
They were compared to observe whether magnetic fields had an effect on the growth of 
Cucumis sativus.​ ​ The seeds with no magnetic field surrounding them had a lower 
percentage of germination (Table 1).  

Pot Number  Number of Seeds Germinated  Height of Plant (cm) 

Pot 1  1/6  20.5 

Pot 2  2/6  16, 19 

Pot 3  1/6  18.5 

Pot 4  0/6  0 

Pot 5  0/6  0 

Pot 6  3/6  24, 15, 22 

Pot 7  2/6  31, 18.5 

Pot 8  2/6  22, 24.5 

Pot 9  3/6  21, 15, 12.5 

Pot 10  2/6  38.5, 34 

Within the first 2 weeks, 12/30 of the seeds growing under the magnetic field germinated, 
while only 4/30 in the control group germinated. The plants grown under the magnetic 
field also grew taller than the plants without a magnetic field by 24.6% (Figure 3). The 
calculated effect size was high at 0.94 (0.8 being a large effect size). ​meaning the 
difference between the two groups was significant.​ ​However, the standard error bars 
(Figure 3) overlap which means that the difference between the values is not statistically 
significant.  

Figure 3: Bar plot showing average plant height for ​C. sativus​ grown with magnets vs no 
magnets. Average plant height for ​C. sativus​ grown with magnets was 22.3 cm +/- 5.1cm . 
​ rown without magnets was 17.9 cm +/- 2.67 cm. 
Average plant height for ​C. sativus g
Barplot error bars show +/- 1SE. 

DISCUSSION 

One possible explanation for the greater growth observed in the plants grown in the 
presence of the magnets is that the magnetic fields can increase the osmotic potential of 
the plant cells, resulting in the uptake of water and nutrients. This is due to an increased 
number of active energy in cellular electrolyte solutions which may also contribute to 
accelerated germination rates. Magnetic fields have also been shown to positively 
impact photochemical activity in plants. It’s been shown that plants exposed to magnetic 
fields had an increased amount of carotenoids (an essential photosynthetic pigment) as a 
response to the stress induced by the magnetic field. This further enhanced plant growth 
 

in that study. 

My results did not align with those from previous research done around magnetic fields 
and its effects on plants. I did not observe any significant impact on the growth of the 
Cucumis sativus,​ which differed from the results of prior studies.   

Previous research has shown similar results with magnetic fields having a positive effect 
on plant growth and also accelerating germination. These findings were reinforced by 
my experiment. Other studies also observed similar results using magnetized water, 
which is interesting to note another way to grow plants under the force of magnetism. 

Previous research has shown magnetic fields have a positive effect on plant growth, 
specifically in grain, and also displayed accelerated germination. Literature on the 
stimulation of growth in wheat using magnetic fields found that the average length of the 
plants had an increase of 30.41% in comparison to the control group (Alikamanoglu, 
Sema, and Ayse Sen., 2011). When comparing my results with research done using 
Cucumis sativus, ​I found that my results were not consistent. The study found that the 
cucumber seedlings treated with the magnetic field showed significantly higher growth 
when compared to their controls (Rezaiiasl, A., et al., 2012). 

In order to better test my hypothesis ​and look further into these unexpected results,​ I 
would include more groups with varying strengths of magnets to observe whether 
increased intensity of magnets leads to further accelerated plant growth. I might also 
experiment with the effects of removing the magnets from the plants’ environment to 
examine the effects of this on plant growth and health. 

From my experiment, I found that plants grown under a magnetic field grew taller and 
germinated earlier.​ ​From my experiment, I found that the cucumber plants grown under 
a magnetic field did not grow significantly more than the plants without the magnetic 
field.​ However, the germination rate of those surrounded by magnets in the first 2 weeks 
was higher than the plants without the magnetic field. Previous research done on this 
subject has shown that magnetism does have a positive impact on plant growth. With 
more research, it would be interesting to see magnetic fields implemented on a much 
larger scale. 

REFERENCES 

1. Akysonov, S. I., ​Bulychev​, ​A. A.​,​ Grunina​, ​T. Yu.​,​ ​Goryachev​, ​S. N.​, and 
Turovetsky​, ​V. B.​ “EFFECTS OF ELF-EMF TREATMENT ON WHEAT SEEDS AT 
 DIFFERENT STAGES OF GERMINATION AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS OF THEIR 
ORIGIN.” ​Taylor & Francis​, 30 June 2001, 
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1081/JBC-100104146?scroll=top.  
2. Alikamanoglu, Sema, and Ayse Sen. “Stimulation of Growth and Some 
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