In this study alternating magnetic field treatments at low frequency (60 Hz) with combinations of three magnetic flux densities (20, 60 and 100 mT) and three exposure times (7.5, 15 and 30 minutes) were used as pre-sowing seed treatm ents in three maize ( Zea mays L.) genotypes (CL-12 X CL-11, CL-4 X CL-1 and CL-13 x CL-1). In the cas e of CL-12 X CL-11 genotype these treatments increased significantly the seedling emergence rate, seedling dry weight and emergence in soil. The best treatment was found at magnetic flux density of 100 mT and exposure time of 7.5 min, with significant improvements in seedling emergence rate by 123.2%, field emergence by 110% and seedling dry weight, 21 days after plantin g, by 30.1%. In the case of CL-4 X CL-1 geno- type it was found a negative biostimulation for see dling emergence percentage; finally in the CL-13 x CL-1 genotype there was not any significant effect. These results show that electromagnetic field treatment provide a simple and ecologically well co mpatible method to improve seed vigour in maize but is necessary to find the optimal irradiat ion parameters to induce a positive biostimulation in the maize seeds which also depends on the seed g enotype.
The effect of UV-C light as a means of control of natural mycobiota of grains of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids “San Juan” and ”H-159” (productive cycle, 2009) was investigated. UV-C lamps of 15 W were used and the exposure times applied were 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 min. The experiment was established in the randomised complete block design with eight and four replicates. The unit pilot was 50 grains. For the determination of mycobiota the agar plate test was used, after disinfection of the grains with sodium hypochlorite diluted to 3% for 1 min. Differences (P ≤ 0.001, P ≤ 0.05) between treatments were found, the best treatments being those of 30 and 10 min, observing reductions of 42.85 and 52.05% in the number of grains infected with Fusarium spp. with respect to control for “San Juan” and “H-159”, respectively. For Fusarium monoliforme it was found that in 30 min there was a reduction of 53.74% for the hybrid “San Juan”, while for H-159 a reduction of 61.7% in 10 minutes was observed. These results show that UV-C radiation may be useful for application as a germicide in future experiments on a wide variety of grains.
Electromagnetic fields have many applications in agriculture, but much still remains to be studied to provide scientific evidence of its potential use as an alternative for improvement of food quality from plants whose seed was irradiated, especially in the physical characteristics of the product. In this study we investigated the effects of the electromagnetic fields on the physical quality of maize grain. Twelve treatments were evaluated from a combination of two maize hybrids (San Juan and San Jose) and five times of exposure to electromagnetic field (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 minutes) plus a control (no electromagnetic treatment) in a design of randomised complete blocks with four replications. Electromagnetic treatment of the hybrid maize seeds (San Juan and San Jose), applied as a presowing treatment, modifies the physical characteristics of maize grains. It was possible to observe that there were significant differences (p≤0.01) between the experimental treatments and between the hybrids in their grain length (LG), grain width (GW) and 1000-grain weight (TGW). The hectolitric weight (HW) of the hybrids was between 69.05 and 68.98 kg hL-1, respectively. These results could have an impact on the process and quality of the tortilla that is consumed by the population; this is a function of time of exposure to electromagnetic treatment.
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