Effects of Low-Power Microwave Fields on Seed Germination and Growth Rate

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of low power microwave radiation on germination and growth rate in seeds. In the present paper, the bioeffects of low power (non-thermal intensity) microwave modulated with 1 KHz square wave have been studied. Experiments were performed in X-band frequencies using klystron based microwave test bench. Microwave parameters like frequency, power, exposure time and power density were varied while irradiating seed samples to study their influence on germination. The seed samples used for the experiment included wheat (Triticum aestivum), bengal gram (Cicer arietinum), green gram (Vigna radiate) and moth bean (Vigna Aconitifolia). Seed germination %, plant height, root length and dry matter % (biomass %) were recorded and compared with control seeds. The effects of different treatments were found to be stimulating the germination and seedling vigour of plants especially in power and exposure time treatments while increase in frequency and power density has reduced the seed germination and seedling vigour. The effect also varied with the nature of seeds.