Investigation of the Effects of Radio Frequency Water Treatment on Some Characteristics of Growth in Pepper ( Capsicum annuum) Plants

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of electromagnetic radio frequency treatment of water on the growth of pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants. For this experiment, one hundred one-week old plants were divided into two groups. The first group of plants was watered with water subjected to radio frequency electromagnetic radiation from an internet router for one hour a day, while the other group was watered with tap water (control). The overall results showed changes of growth characters of plant watered with electromagnetic water. The length of pepper plants is significantly affected by the treated water, where the length of shoot was lower in plants grown under the effect of treated water (22.43 ± 7.17 cm) than those grown without treated water (28.11 ± 8.57 cm). The results revealed that the stem diameter of control plants (1.74 ± 0.39 cm) was significantly higher than that of the treated plants (1.66 ± 0.35 cm). In addition, the root length was lower in plants grown under the effect of treated water than those grown without treated water. Pepper plants watered with electromagnetic treated water exhibited marked decreases in health index, fresh and dry weight, relative water content, number of flowers and fruits/plant as well as number of seeds/fruit. In addition, the current experiment showed a significant decrease in the number of leaves, branch and flower per plant when watered with electromagnetic treated water. The results revealed that the first flowering time for plants in treated group was remarkably decelerated when compared to other plants in control group.