The Effect of Magnetic Treatment of Irrigation Water on Cucumber

Production and Water Productivity

A.M. Al-Shrouf
Research and Development Division
Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority
Al-Ain, PO Box 1972
United Arab Emirates

Keywords: magnetic treatment, tap water, water productivity, cucumber

Abstract
Magnetic fields are known to induce biochemical changes and could be used
as a stimulator for growth-related reactions. The technology of magnetic water has
been widely studied and adopted in the field of agriculture in many countries. This
study examines whether there are any beneficial effects of magnetic treatment of
different irrigation water types on water productivity and yield of cucumber.
Therefore, the present work was carried out to study the response of growth, yield,
and other chemical parameters of cucumber irrigated with magnetized water under
greenhouse comparison with tap water. Based on results of our experiment plants
irrigated with magnetic water exhibited significant increase in most vegetative
features, while the magnetic treatment showed no significant effect on the irrigation
water’s pH or EC nor on the soil’s physical characteristics. Moreover, the
magnetized water treatment significantly increased yield compared to plant
irrigated with tap water. On average, the increase in yield reached 28.24%
compared to tap water treatment. The magnetic treatment also showed significant
increase in fruit fresh weight, fruit dry weight, plant height, leaf area and leaf
moisture content by 20, 3, 3, 5 and 1%, respectively, compared to tap water, whereas
the fruit firmness for those treatments irrigated by magnetic water reduced
significantly by more than 6.5% as compared to tap water. The overall results
showed that utilization of magnetized water can lead to improved quantity of
cucumber crops. Using magnetic water for irrigation could be a promising technique
for agricultural improvements but more investigation is required on different crops.

INTRODUCTION
In the UAE, the arid conditions, which are characterized by the high temperature
and evapotranspiration, increase the stress on water demands and have put enormous
pressure on water resources. Steps need to be taken to conserve both the quantity and
quality of water and appropriate strategies will have to be developed to avoid risk to
future water supplies. The main efficiency gains must come from the dominant user,
irrigation, accounting for over 70% of the total water use in the UAE (ANRA, 2008).
One of the ways by which we can reduce the total water used for irrigation is to
employ practices that improve crop yield per unit volume of water used (i.e., water
productivity). There have been some claims made that the magnetic treatment of
irrigation water can improve water productivity (Duarte Diaz et al., 1997). If those claims
are valid, there is scope for magnetic treatment of water to save water supplies and assist
in coping with future water scarcity.
The water treated by the magnetic field is passed through a magnetic device.
Effects of magnetic fields on running water have been observed for years. This
technology was used mainly in countries which have very little chemical industry, like
Russia, China, Poland and Bulgaria, who all reported the successful use of magnets in
treating water for irrigation. Until 1980, little was known about how magnetic fields can
stimulate plant growth or even prevent it. Wojcik (1995) reported that in the beginning of
the 1980s that stationary magnetic fields can improve the germination of seeds and speed
up the growth of plants. According to Jones et al. (1986) they found that the

Proc. International Conference on Agricultural Engineering 111 

Eds.: Y.A. Al-Mulla et al.
Acta Hort. 1054, ISHS 2014
electromagnetic fields amplify the plant growth regulator induced Phenylalanine
Ammonia-Lyrase during cell differentiation in the suspended cultured plant cell.
Magnetic fields have been reported to exert a positive effect on the germination of
seeds (Alexander and Doijode, 1995; Carbonell et al., 2000), on plant growth and
development (De Souza et al., 1999; Martínez et al., 2000), on tree growth (Ruzic et al.,
1998), on the ripening of fruits and vegetables (Boeand Salunke, 1963) and on crop yield
(Pietruszewski, 1993); some review papers also mention a number of controversial early
results (Findlay and Hope, 1976; Frey, 1993).
The decrease of soil alkalinity, increase in mobile forms of fertilizers, increase in
crop yields, and earlier vegetation periods can be achieved by magnetized water
treatment. However, in UAE the available studies and application of this technology in
agriculture is very limited. Therefore, the present work aims to study the effect of
irrigation with magnetized water on growth, yield, yield components and some chemical
constituents of cucumber under greenhouse conditions.
The magnetic field (MF) influence on the seeds of various crops and trees species
increased the germination of seeds and improved their qualities (Aladjadjiyan, 2002). MF
affected the various characteristics of the plants like the germination of seeds, root
growth, rate seedlings growth, reproduction and growth of the meristem cells and
chlorophyll quantities (Namba et al., 1995; Atak et al., 1997; Reina et al., 2001).
The researchers have shown that magnetic field changed the characteristics of cell
membrane, affected the cell reproduction and caused some changes in cell metabolism. At
the same time, it was put forward that magnetic field affected the growth characteristics
and various functions like mRNA quality, gene expression, protein biosynthesis and
enzyme activities and caused changes concerning the various functions at the organ and
tissue levels (Atak et al., 2003). The reason of this effect can be found in the presence of
paramagnetic properties in chloroplast which can cause an acceleration of seed
metabolism by magnetic treatment (Aladjadjiyan and Ylieve, 2003). In addition to this,
magnetic fields increased yield and yield parameters of crops like cereal, sunflower and
soybean (Oldacay, 2002). It is important to carry out the determination of the biological
effects formed in plants by magnetic field studies. In the present study, we investigated
the effects of magnetic water on the growth and yield and on some metabolites of wheat
plants.
In general, the literature review reveals that there are possibly some beneficial
effects of magnetic field treatment on plant growth and other related parameters.
However, there is no clarity as to the extent of these effects or about the mechanisms
operating behind these effects. Furthermore, there has not been much research carried out
on the effects of the magnetic treatment of irrigation water on plant growth and crop and
water productivity.
In this study, therefore, we investigate the effects of magnetically treated tap water
and normal tap water on plant yield and water productivity under controlled
environmental conditions in glasshouses. The main objectives of the study are:
1. To examine the performance of magnetically treated tapwater (MT), and non-
magnetized tap water on cucumber growth, yield and nutrient composition of selected
plant types.
2. To quantify water productivity of magnetically-treated irrigation water.
3. To determine the effect of magnetically-treated water on soil properties.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A pot experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Food and
Agriculture Farm, UAE-University (latitude 24°16’N; longitude 55°36’E, altitude 365 m).
The greenhouse was covered with a 45% UV polyethylene and equipped with cooling
(fan and utility) systems. Drip irrigation system was used.
The experiment was conducted during the winter season (2003/2004) to study the
response of growth, yield and some biochemical constituents of cucumber (‘Zico’) plants
for irrigation with tap and magnetized water. Sixteen pots (30 cm in diameter and 50 cm

112 
depth) containing a mixture of soil and organic matter soil (16:1) were used.
Sowing date was in the last week of November 2003/2004. Half of the pots were
irrigated in weekly intervals with tap water, while the other eight pots were irrigated with
tap water after magnetization by passing the water through a magnetic device (U050 mg,
0.5 inch, output 4-6 m3/h, production by Magnetic Technologies L.C.C., Russia, branch
United Arab Emirates). The recommended NPK fertilizers were applied throughout the
period of the experiment.
Cucumber seeds (Cucumis sativus L. ‘Zico’) were germinated in the nursery
(72-cell tray) to see how the germination ratio was affected by irrigation with tap and
magnetized water, and the results of the germination percentage were recorded.
All treatments received the same amount of irrigation at daily irrigation intervals.
Also the fertilizer application for the whole pots were similar. The irrigation amount
which was added to each pot was 32.3 L.
At 90 days from sowing, plant height, fresh and oven dry weight of 16 cucumber
plants were determined. Relative water content was calculated according to Henson et al.
(1981).
The first week of March was the end of the cucumber season. Cucumber yield and
its components were recorded. Statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS
program. A student test (t-test) was done to find the significant differences between
magnetic and non-magnetic water treatments.
By the end of the experiment, the soil samples were analyzed for the 16 pots for
physical and chemical analysis. Irrigation water samples were collected from all the
drippers and were analyzed as well.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soil and Water Results

In order to see the effect of the magnetic water over the tap water in terms of water
salinity and acidity, the results showed no significant effect, which means that the
magnetic water had no effect of water salinity or acidity. The results of the irrigation
water characteristics are shown in Table 1.
Tables 2 and 3 show some physical and chemical characteristics of the soil used in
the experiment. The results showed no changes in the soil physical and chemical
characteristics as affected by irrigation with magnetic water.
Figure 1 shows the result of the average germination percentage of the cucumber
seeds as affected by irrigation of magnetized tap water and non-magnetized tap water.
The figure shows the germination percentage of the cucumber seeds resulted in a more
significant germination percentage for magnetized water compared to tap water.

Growth Parameters
The growth characteristics such as plant height, fresh and dry weight of the plants
exposed to a magnetic field are shown in Table 4. It is obvious that magnetic treatment
increased the growth (fruit fresh and dry weights/plant, plant height, leaf area, leaf
moisture content and water content) significantly compared to the un-magnetized
irrigation water treatment. The percent of increments in fresh weight/plant reached 20%
and reached 3% in the dry weight/plant of cucumber fruit. The increments in plant height,
fruit, leaf area, leaves moisture content and fruit firmness were higher with magnetized
water compared to plants irrigated with tap water (Fig. 2). Leaf water content was found
to be least affected parameters where the percentage reached 1.2%.
Results showed significant differences for the cucumber fruit length between the
two treatments. The fruit length increased by 9.5% for the treatments irrigated with
magnetized water compared to those irrigated with tap water. However, the fruit diameter
showed no significant differences.

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Yield and Yield Component
With respect to the effect of MT on the yield and yield component of cucumber,
the results in Table 6 make it clear that magnetic treatment significantly increased the
yield of cucumber over the untreated controls.
The results showed the number of fruits per plant for the treatment which was
irrigated by the magnetized water is significantly more than tap water irrigated treatment.
The increment in the yield reached 24%.
Figure 3 shows the results of the cucumber water productivity which is used to
denote the amount or value of product over volume or value of water depleted or diverted.
The results showed a 26% significant increase for the magnetic treatment compared to tap
water treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
The magnetic treatment of irrigation water resulted in statistically significant
increases in the yield and water productivity for cucumber. The average of the cucumber
water productivity for the magnetic treatment (78 g/L) was significantly higher than
treatment which was irrigated with tap water (62 g/L). The magnetic treatments showed a
26% significant increase in the cucumber water productivity compared to tap water
treatment. Magnetic treatment showed significant increase in cucumber fresh weight,
cucumber dry weight, plant height, leaf area, leaf moisture content by 20, 3, 3, 5 and 1%,
respectively, compared to tap water, while the cucumber firmness reduced significantly
by more than 6.5% compared to tap water treatment. The magnetic treatment of irrigation
showed no significant effect on the irrigation water pH or EC. Moreover, the magnetic
treatment of irrigation showed no significant effect on the soil physical and chemical
characteristics.

Literature Cited
ANRA. 2008. Irrigation - an overview. Australian Natural Resources Atlas.
http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/irrigation/overview/index.html (accessed July 18).
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characteristics of Zea mays. J. of Central Europ. Agric. 3:89-94.
Aladjadjiyan, A. and Ylieva, T. 2003. Influence of stationary magnetic field on the early
stages of the development of tobacco seeds (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Journal of Central
European Agriculture 4:131-138.
Alexander, M.P. and Doijode, S.D. 1995. Electromagnetic field, a novel tool to increase
germination and seedling vigour of conserved onion (Allium cepa L.) and rice (Oryza
sativa L.) seeds with low viability. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 104:1-5.
Atak, C., Danilov, V., Yurttas, B., Yalçn, S., Mutlu, D. and Rzakoulieva, A. 1997. Effects
of magnetic field on soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) seeds. Com JINR. Dubna 1-13.
Atak, C., Emiroglu, O., Aklimanoglu, S. and Rzakoulieva, A. 2003. Stimulation of
regeneration by magnetic field in soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) tissue cultures. J.
Cell Mol. Biol. 2:113-119.
Belyavskaya, N.A. 2001. Ultrastructure and calcium balance in meristem cells of pea
roots exposed to extremely low magnetic field. Adv. Space Res. 28:645-650.
Carbonell, M.V., Martinez, E. and Amaya, J.M. 2000. Stimulation of germination in rice
(Oryza sativa L.) by astatic magnetic field. Electro-Magnetobiol. 19:121-128.
Duarte-Diaz, C.E., Riquenes, J.A., Sotolongo, B., Portuondo, M.A., Quintana, E.O. and
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Vol. 2A,Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
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 electromagnetic fields, of plant growth regulator induced Phenylalanine Ammonia-
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Tables
Table 1. Properties of irrigation water.

Water source EC (dS/m) pH

Tap water 0.31 7.81
Magnetic water 0.32 7.73
t-sign. ns ns

Table 2. Physical properties of greenhouse soil.

Water source Aw (%) PWP (%) FC (%) Sp (%) ρb (g/cm3) Texture

Tap water 7.0 3.7 10.7 14.2 1.55 Sand
Magnetic water 6.9 3.6 10.5 14.1 1.56 Sand
t-sign. ns ns ns ns ns ns
Aw - Available water; PWP - permanent wilting point; FC - field capacity.

Table 3. Chemical properties of greenhouse soil.

Water source EC (dS/m) pH N (%) P (meq/kg) K (meq/kg)

Tap water 1.55 7.82 0.16 0.41 0.68
Magnetic water 1.49 7.77 0.15 0.38 0.66
t-sign. ns ns ns ns ns

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Table 4. Effect of irrigating with magnetized water as compared by tap water on some
growth cucumber parameters.

Average Average Plant Leaves Fruit

Leaf area
Water source fruit fresh fruit dry height 2 moisture firmness
(cm )
weight (g) weight (g) (cm) content (kg)
Tap water 51.6 3.1 2.57 258.5 95.2 4.4
Magnetic tap water 62.3 3.2 2.65 271.8 96.4 4.1
t-sign. ** ns * ** ** *
*, ** t is significant at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels, respectively; ns – non-significant.

Table 5. Effect of irrigating with magnetized water compared to tap water on fruit height
and diameter.

Water source Fruit length (cm) Fruit diameter (cm)

Tap water 10.5 3.2
Magnetic water 11.5 3.1
t-sign. ** ns
** t is significant at the 0.01 level; ns – non-significant.

Table 6. Effect of irrigating with magnetized water compared to tap water on plant yield
and number of fruit per plant.

Water source Number of fruit per plant Yield

Tap water 39 2.01
Magnetic water 44 2.54
t-sign. ** **
** t is significant at the 0.01 level.

Figures

96
94
Perentage (%)

92
90
88
86
84
82
Tap water Magnetic tap water
Irrigation Water Source

Fig. 1. Germination percentage of the cucumber seeds over irrigation of the two water
types.

116 
 6

4
Increment Perentage (%)

0
Plant Height(cm) Leaf area(cm2) Leaves moisture Fruit firmness (kg)
‐2 content

‐4

‐6

‐8
Plant Growth Parameter

Fig. 2. The increment percentage of some cucumber growth parameters for the plant
irrigated with magnetized tap water compared to those irrigated with tap water.

90
80
Water Productivity gm/liter

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Tap water Magnetic water
Irrigation Water Source

Fig. 3. Water productivity (g/L) for the cucumber crop which was irrigated with tap water
as compared to those irrigated with magnetic irrigation water.

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