Affiliation(s)
1. Department of Production, Plant Protection and Plant Biotechnology, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Madinat Al Irfane, Rabat, BP 6202, Morocco
2. Department of Statistics and Applied Computing, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Madinat Al Irfane, Rabat, BP 6202, Morocco
3. Department of Energy and Agricultural Equipment, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Madinat Al Irfane, Rabat, BP 6202, Morocco
4. Department of Physics, University of Mohamed V, Faculty of Science, 4, Avenue Ibn Battouta, Rabat, BP 1014, Morocco
ABSTRACT
Utilization of magnetically
treated water has been investigated and applied in many countries such as
Russia, Australia, Israel, China and Japan. Studies have shown that the
magnetic field is used as a safe alternative to improve plant growth and
development. Although the properties of magnetically treated water have
received a great deal of interest in recent years, there are no studies conducted in Moroccan agricultural conditions. The present study aimed at gaining more insight on the effect of magnetically treated
irrigation water (MTIW) in the northwest region of Morocco, on the yield of
strawberry plants (Fragaria
× ananassa Duch. cv. Camarosa) and its components. The experiments were conducted in situ, during two crop seasons (2011-2012 and 2013-2014). The results confirm that physical treatment of
irrigation water by a static magnetic field improves the yield and quality of strawberry fruits. The percentages of increase in number of flowers, number of fruits,
fruit yield and quality of export production per 100 plants were 27.4%, 30.9%, 34.8%, 24.3%, respectively, compared with normal
irrigation water (average over both crop seasons). These results suggest that irrigation with MTIW improves the
production as well as the quality of the strawberry fruit, thus water use
efficiency was enhanced. Therefore, the MTIW can be considered as a promising technique for improvement
but extensive research is still required.
KEYWORDS
Magnetic field, irrigation
water, strawberry, production, quality.
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