The impact of a pulsed electromagnetic field on the seed protein content of soybean

Abstract

Many studies show that in the last 20 years, the increase in production per hectare has been achieved mainly due to the creation of new varieties and the development of plant breeding. Innovations in plant breeding are the main way to find new traits, values and tolerances, which are the only ones that can respond to the increased demand for yield and more efficient production. In addition to high and stable yields, it is very important that the soybean seed has a satisfactory technological quality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how the application of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) affected the protein yield of soybean seed depending on the year, exposure time and frequency. The field trials were conducted in the experimental field of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2010-2013. For this research, the seeds of a medium-sized variety Valjevka exposed to a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) using a pulse generator and a strip applicator were used. A low frequency pulsed electromagnetic field (16, 24, 30, 72 Hz) was used at the exposure times of 0, 30, 60, and 90 minutes. The results of the research show that the application of this method can increase the yield of protein in soybean seed for more than 20%, which is a significant increase, especially in organic production, where the use of seed treatment agents is very restricted. However, this measure can also have an inhibitory effect if an adverse combination of exposure time and frequency strength is selected.

Mnoga istraživanja pokazuju da se u poslednjih 20 godina povećanje proizvodnje po hektaru ostvaruje uglavnom zahvaljujući stvaranju novih sorti i razvoju oplemenjivanja biljaka. Inovacije u oplemenjivanju biljaka su glavni put za iznalaženje novih osobina, vrednosti i tolerantnosti, koje jedine mogu da odgovore povećanom zahtevu za prinosom i efikasnijom proizvodnjom. Osim visokih i stabilnih prinosa, veoma je važno da seme soje poseduje i zadovoljavajući tehnološki kvalitet. Zbog toga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio da se ispita kako primena pulsirajućeg elektromagnetnog polja (PEMP) deluje na sadržaj proteina u semenu soje u zavisnosti od godine, vremena trajanja ekspozicije i jačine frekvencije. Poljski ogled je izveden na eksperimentalnom polju Instituta za ratarstvo i povrtarstvo u Novom Sadu u periodu od 2010. do 2013. godine. Za ovo istraživanje korišćeno je seme srednjerane sorte Valjevka koje je izlagano pulsirajućem elektromagnetnom polju (PEMP) pomoću generatora impulsa i trakastog aplikatora. Korišćeno je pulsirajuće elektromagnetno polje niskih frekvencija (16, 24, 30, 72 Hz) u vremenu ekspozicije od 0, 30, 60 i 90 minuta. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da primena ove metode može povećati prinos proteina u semenu soje do 20%, što predstavlja značajno povećanje i dobru osnovu da se ova mera počne koristiti, pre svega u organskoj proizvodnji, gde je primena sredstava za tretiranje semena veoma ograničena međutim, ova mera može imati i inhibitorni efekat ako se izabere nepovoljna kombinacija vremena ekspozicije i jačine frekvencije.