a rc h d d o cu m e nt

Do n o t as s u m e c o n t e n t re fle c t s c u rre n t
s c ie n t ific Kn o w le d g e , po lic ie s ,
o r pra c t ic e s .
 UN D STATE
ITE PAR
SDE TMN
E TOF

DEPARTMNT BULLETINN0
E .

Was hing ton D C , . .

ELECTROCULTURE
By LY M A N J BR I S A
GG 1 B C A M P B E L L , R H H E A L D a n d L H F LI N T , Ofii cc
i p h ysi si s s
.
.
, ,
. . . . .

of B o ca l I n v e t g a t i o n , B u r ea u of P la n t I n d u t r y

CON TE NT S
Pg a e

N orm al elect rical st at e o f t h e 1 S u m m ary peri m en t s a t A rli n gt on E

o f ex x
El ect ri cal fi eld e m pl o y e d i n elect rocu lt u al p e m en t
ex pe rim en t s Rew e w o f o t h er i n v es t i g at i o n s i n e lect o cu l
r rl
2
E lect ocul t u ral e p eri m en t s
r
i t h m i s cel ta e
lan eo u s c o p s E p eri m en t s W i t h 50 11
r x W r

Elect ro cu l t u r al fi e l d e pe i m en t s w i t h g ra i n s E p e i m en t s W t h m o di fi e d p o t e t l al
r x
x r x r 1 n
Elect ro cu l t u ral e p e r m en t s i n t h e pl an t
x l g a d l en t s r
13 Li t erat u re ci t e d

T h e term e l ectro cu l ture as u se d i n thi s b u ll et i n refers t o p ractices ”

d esigne d t o i ncre as e the g rowt h a n d yi e ld o f crop s throu g h electri ca l

‘

tre atm en t su ch as t h e m ai n t en ance of an e l ectri c c h arg e o n a ne t

,

work o ver the p lants o r an e l ectri c curren t th r ou gh t h e s o i l i n

whi c h the l ants are g rowi ng .

Dur i n g t e p as t 7 5 y e ars m an y exp eri m ents i n e l ec tro cu l ture h ave

b een carri e d o u t wi th varyi n g d e g rees o f re fi nem en t Som e o f thes e .

exp eri ments i n d i ca t e t h a t the yi e ld o f crop s c an b e m a teri all y i h

f
.

cre ase d by e l ectri ca l tre atm ent O thers con d ucte d a l on g s im i l ar .

,

l i nes fa i l to s h ow an y m ark e d resp ons e t o the tre a tm ent I n thi s

,
.

l a tter c l ass are i ncl u d e d the ex erjm en t s con d u cte d by th e O ffice o f

B iop h ys i ca l I nves ti g a t i ons o f t e B ure au o f P l an t I n d us try which ,

are rep orte d i n the fo ll owin g pa g es Thi s rep ort i s fo ll owe d by a .

b rief a ccoun t o f o t h er i nves t i a t i o n s i n this fi e ld I nves ti g a ti ons

re l at i n g t o t h e cu l t i va t i on o f pI
.

a n t s un d er e l e ctri c l i g hts are n o t i h

c l u d e d in t h e rev i ew o f t h e l i tera ture o f e l e ctro culture th e resp ons e ,

o f the l ants un d er su c h con di t i ons b e i n g d u e pri m ari ly t o t h e h e a t

a n d li g t i n to whi c h t h e e l e ctri ca l energy h as b een transform e d .

N O RM A L EL ECT RI C A L S T A TE O F T H E A T M O S P H ERE
S i nce t h e e ffe ct o f usin g a ch ar g e d ne twork o ver g row i n g p l ants i s
t o chan g e the e l e ctrica l s t a te o f the a tmo sphere su rroun d in g the p l ants
i t seems d esirab l e t o d i s cuss b r i efl y th e norm a l e l e ctrica l co n d i tio ns i n
the a tmosphere an d the c h an g es p ro d u ce d by the ch arg e d ne two rk .

A n ex am i nat i o n o f t h e e l ec tric a l con d itions i n the a tm osph ere over

an O p en fi e ld o n a c l e ar d a y shows th at there i s a force tending t o
m o v e a p o s i t i v e l ch arg e d b o d d ownwar d ; i n o ther wo rds t h e
.
,

e l ectrica l fie ld o f orc e i s i den tica wi th t h a t wh i ch wou ld ex i s t i f th e

earth were charg e d ne g a t i ve ly .

P h s i is S t an d ard s s i n ce
l

l
y c t, B u reau o f , 1 9 20 .

6 2 14 9
° —26 1 —1
2 B ULL ETI N 1 3 7 9, U . 8 . D EP A RT M E N T or A G RIC U L TU RE

On fine days the p o t e n t i a l g ra d i en t in the atmosp h ere is a lmos t

,
'

inv a ri a bly positive in sign ( th a t is a positive charge tends to move ,

downward ) and the m a gnitude of the vertical gradient is of the order

,

of 1 0 0 volts p er meter though i t is continu a lly v a r ing W hen thun

d e rs t o rm s are i n the neighborhood the p o t e n t i aIg ra d i en t m a y be
, .

either p ositive or neg a tive and changes sign frequently The m agni .

tude of the p o tential gr a dient also undergoes wide fluctuations ,

duri ng stormy weather frequently attaining values of vol ts

p er meter 1 0 0 times the normal gradient
,
.

A further examination of the lower atmos here shows that charged

p a rticles or ions a re always present B ot p ositive and negative .

i ons a r e found the positive ions gener a lly being somewhat more
,
.

numerous They consist of groups of molecules loosely bound

.

together and c a rrying a ch a rge Frequently these small ions attach .

themselves to dus t ) a rticles thus b ecoming l a rge ions whi ch move , ,

much less rapidly t a n the sm a ll ions .

W hen th e po tential gr a dient is positive the negative i ons m ove ,

upw a rd a n d t h e p ositive i ons downw a rd to the groun d thus con ,

s t i t u t in
g an electri c cur rent fl owing from air to earth T his current .

is due a lm ost entirely to the sm a ll or free i ons the m obility of the ,

l a rge i ons b eing so l ow that their influence on the conductivi ty of the

a i r c a n b e disreg a rded The m a gni tude of the current from the ai r
.

to a unit area on the e a rth s su rf a ce is ex tremely sm all b eing onl y ’

a mperes per squ a re m eter or amperes per acre .

The s trength of th e current is prop ortion a l to th e p otential gradi ent ,

to th e number of i ons per uni t volum e and t o their m obility Th e ,

.

average n u mber of free i ons is of the order of per cubic centi

m eter t h e p ositive i ons cons tituting s omewhat more than one h alf
,
-

the t otal number Their m obility is such that they mi rate wi th a

.

velocity of a b out 1 centime ter per second when s u bj e c t e to a poten

ti a l gr a dient of 1 0 0 volts per m eter .

Although th e air earth current per uni t are a is extrem ely sm all
-
,
i t is sufficient when applied to the whole of th e earth s surface t o ’

reduce th e negative ch a rge of the e a rth to o n eéh a lf i ts initial value in

ab out 1 0 minutes Th e expl anati on of the m aintenance of the
.

neg a tive ch a rge o i th e earth under such extraordinary condi ti ons is

-

one o f th e outstandi ng problems in atmospheric electricity ( 1 2 ,

EL EC T RI C A L FIEL D EM P L O YEE IN ELEC TR O C U LT U RA L EKP ERI

M EN T S

I n m ost of the fiel d ex e ri m e n t s conducte d at the A rlington

Ex e ri m e n t F arm the st a n a rd height of the network was 5 m eters
, ,

an th e potenti al of the network was approxi mately volts .

Th e average potenti al gra di ent under th e network was therefore of

the order of volts per m e ter or ab ou t 1 0 0 times the norm al ,

gradient in fine we ather This wo u l d produce an air e arth current .

-

a b out 1 0 0 times th e norm al current as l ong a s the i on content of th e

air rem ained norm al However a m arked i o n i z ati on occurred at the

.
,

network s o that the number of p osi tive i ons p er uni t volum e under
,

th e network was m uch higher th an normal This was shown by .

m eans of m e a surement s m ade when the network was ch arged and a

gentl e breeze blowing On th e windward si de of the network th e .

con d iti ons were norm al but on the l eeward si de a decided increase ,

2 Th e s i
er al n u m be s
r ( i t a li c) i n p a ren t h es es f
re er to Li t era t u re c t e i d , at the en d of t his b u ll et i n .
 E L EC T R O C UL TU R E 3

w as o b se rve d i n th e i o n content o f th e air which d rifted from u nder

th e netwo rk Th i s e ffect c oul d b e trace d t o a di s t ance o f s evera l
.

hundr e d fe et from t h e network .

Th e ri n ci p al ch an g e i n th e env i ronm ent o f p l ants grown un d er a

ch ar g e netw o rk ap p e ars then t o c onsis t i n a m arke d incre as e i n the
stren g th o f th e ai r e art h cur rent whi ch fl ows throu gh th e pl ants t o
-

t h e gro un d .

I f th e d rift i n g ch arge from t h e exp erim ental pl at Sh o u l d p ass over

th e contro l p l at i t wo u l d in cre as e th e air e arth current t o th e c ontrol
,
-

pl at t o s om e ex tent owin g t o th e incre as e i n th e numb er o f i ons p er

,

un i t v o l um e B u t even un d er s uch c o n di ti ons th e cur rent fl o wi n g

.

i n to th e contro l p l at w oul d necess aril y b e sm all in comp ar i s on with

th at fl owi n g i nt o th e exp erim ent al pl a t s i n ce b oth th e i o n c ontent ,

an d th e p o tent i a l g ra di ent are m uch h i gh er un der th e network an d

th e current i s prop ort i ona l t o th e pro d uct o f thes e f actors .

ELEC TRO C U LTU RA L "EXP ERIM EN T S W IT H MIS C EL L A N EO U S C RO P S

Exp er i m en ts i n 1 9 0 7 .
—
Ele c t r o cu l t u r al exp eri m ents were firs t u n der
t a k en by th e d ep artm ent i n 1 9 0 7 , u s in g v e g et ab les fo r th e m os t
3

p art as tes t crops T h e t es t p l at whi ch was 1 3 8 b y 1 0 6 fe e t w as

.
, ,

di vi d e d i n to thr e e s ecti ons 4 4 by 1 0 6 feet th e center s ecti o n b ein g us e d ,

as th e ex p eri m enta l are a an d th e t w o o utsi de s ecti ons as c ontro l s .

Th e crops were p l ante d i n co nti n uo u s rows across t h e thre e s ecti ons ,

s o th at th e center th i r d o f e ach r o w was un der tre a tm ent .

A W a g ner m i ca p l at e e l ectros tat i c m ac hin e was us ed as a hi gh

-

p o tent i a l so u r ce I t was i nc l ose d i n a ti g h t c as e p ermitt i n g the us e

.
,

o f dr yi ng a g ents t o k ee t h e m a chi ne i n the b es t condition fo r op era

t i on T he p o s i t i ve p o e was co nnecte d t o a n op en w i re ne twork
.

strun g o n gl ass i ns u l ators an d th e n ega ti v e p o l e wa s g ro u n d e d Th e ,

.

network co vere d t h e exp eri m enta l p l a t and was place d h i gh en ou gh

t o p erm i t t h e u s e o f a h ors e cul t i vator Th e app li e d p o tent i a l vari e d .

som ewh a t wi t h we at h er con d i t i ons b u t usua lly ex cee d e d ,

vo l ts Th e ne t w ork was char g e d t h ro u g ho ut t h e n i g ht from l at e

.
,

a fterno on un t i l early mo rn i n g Th e p l ants were subj ect e d t o t h e .

e l ectri ca l trea tmen t 6 5 6 h our s i n a ll ex ten d i n g from June 2 0 t o ,

Sep tem b er 1 6 Th e yi e ld s are s h own i n T a bl e 1

. .

TA B LE 1 — Y i ps
'

e l ds fo ll o wi n g elect ro cu lt u r a l t r ea t m en t of m i scell a n eo u s cro u n der

s i p i
.

te t at A rl n g to n E x er m e n t F a r m i n 1 9 0 7

Y i lds p pl
e er at ( p ou n d ) s
Ra t i o of
t re a t ed
C o n t ro l
A v era ge
to
a e ag e

‘
v r
Of of

P la t A Pl at c
co n m ls co n t r o l s

- n

‘
v

In v e
Thes
s ig
e e x pe r
s im e n sO
t w ere co n
d t h e ffi ce o f
d u ct e d o t h e A rli g t o n E pe i m e t F arm
C o p P h ysi ol og y an d B eedi n g In es t i gat i ons
n n x r n b y t h e O fii ce
fi ld kbi of B i o ph y
g h an
sdi ca l
t a t i on , t h e
w or le d
ds
an r r v e e n
l
larg e y b y E W . . Hu on an d W . Sei fri z .
4 B ULLE T I N 1 3 79 , U . s . D EP A RT M E N T or AG R I CU LT UR E

The l a ck of uniformity in t h e yields of the control pl a ts A and C in

the 1 9 0 7 experiments ( T a ble 1 ) is such that no great dependence can
be pl a ced in these results I t is signific a nt however that in onl y one .
, ,

of the 1 0 trial s recorded did the treated pl a t show any evidence of a

substanti al in crease in y ield when comp ared with the me a n of the
contro l plats .

Exp er i m en t s i n 1 9 0 8 — In the 1 9 0 8 trials the wires were run di .

r e c t ly o v e r the treated rows and ke t a t a height of 6 to 1 8 inches

p
ab ove the plants by means of ad j ustable brackets on which the
insulators were mounted The control rows ran p aralle l to the .

tre a ted ones at a dist a nce of 6 % feet and were sep arated from them
by intermediate u a rd rows .

In o n e p art 0 the pl a t the wires over the plants were charge d

ositively to ab out volts from 4 p m to 7 a m each d ay 9 55
pours in all In the o ther p art of the pla t the wires were charged
. . . .
,

and disc h arged r a pidly by connecting them to one terminal of the

secondary of an induction coil the o ther term in a l b eing groun d ed

"
, .

In this case the potential rose to ab out volts and then dis
charged suddenly through a small sp a rk gap between the wi res and
the round .

T e treatment first describ ed is s i mil a r to that e m lo ed by L em

p
s tr om a n d believed by him to result in increased yi eld ; In these
experiments however neither treatment gave any evidence of in
, ,

creased growth The detailed yields consequently are no t of specia l

.

i nterest .

ELEC T RO C U LT U RA L F IEL D EXP ERIM EN T S W IT H G RA IN S

In selecting a location for the ele c t ro cu lt u r al field experiments near

W ashi ngton three conditions w ere sou ht : ( 1 ) A uniform soil ( 2 )
, ,

available electric power and ( 3 ) accessi i li t y from the l aboratory in ,

W as hi ngton sinc e the equipment had to b e visited d aily during the

,

experiment a l se a son Soil uni formity is p a rticul ar] diffi cult to fin d

.

in the environs of W ashington and the Arli ngton x p eri m e n t Farm ,

l

forms no e x ce tion in this respect I t seemed to b e the b est avai l .

able location o w e v e r and portions of sections A B an d E were

, , , ,

made av a il able for the ex e ri m e n t s which were c a rried on from 1 9 1 1 ,

to 1 9 1 8 Sections A an B proved ver dis appointing with -regar d

.

to their u niformi t y and the mos t reli a le results were ob tai ned in
,

section E These experiments will b e firs t d escribed

. .

The L odge N ewm an app ar a tus used in the experiments from 1 9 1 2

-

t o 1 9 1 5 inclusive was designed in Engl and primarily fo r e l ectro

, ,

c u l tural work and consists essentia lly of a 1 1 0 vol t induction co i l -

,

operated by a mercury interrup ter and a rectifier Five L odge ,

.

valves d4
esigned to rectify the hi h —tension alternatin g current were
laced in series wi th the n e t w o rg thus a ll owing only the positive
p
1m
p u ls e s from the second ary of the coil to re ach the network
The negative pole was grounded Two b alls 2 5 millimeters in di am .

eter one of which was grounded and the o ther connected to the net
,

work were used to determine the po tenti a l assu m ing a breakdown

, ,

gradient of volts per millimeter .

Systematic measurements of the current from the network were

no t m ade bu t the current c ould b e determined approxi m a tely from
,

the po tenti al of the network and the known power characteristics of

4 F or a d esc ip t i o
r n of th e l
v a ve s , s ee L o dge , 0 .
 E E T L C R O C UL T UR E

th e m ac hi n e used T he c urrent fro m th e ne twork o ver the ex p eri

.
.

ment a l p l at i n s ectio n E w as o f th e or d er o f t o 1 milli amp ere p er

acre d ependin g o n th e volt age and ne twork us e d Thi s i s o f the
,
.

or d er o f to t imes the intensi ty of the norm a l air e arth -

current .

P R
EX E IM EN T S I N S EC T IO N E

I t h as b een shown b y J pr g en s e n and Priestl ey (2 6 ) th at the ioni z a

’

ti o n fro m the hi ghl y ch ar g ed network is b y n o me ans l i mi ted t o the

are a b ene ath the ne twork b u t m a y b e c arrie d by the w i n d t o a c o n
,

s i d er a ble d is t ance d ep en d i n g o n the we ather co nditions I t was

,
.

co n s e quent ly d eeme d a d vi s a bl e t o s ep arate the tre ate d and contro l

p l ats s o far as practic a bl e A ccor d in gl y t w o p l ats o f half an acre
.
,

e ach ( 1 3 2 by 1 6 5 fee t ) were s e l ecte d i n sectio n E whi ch were sep a

rate d b y a d i s t ance o f 3 5 0 fe e t o n e pl at b eing directly north o f the
, .

o ther .

sl s
. . G
F IG 1 — en era v ew o f t h e ex eri m en t a
l i
i s s p l fi ld
sppd s ss p si gf g i
e li
a t A r n gt on E x e r m en t p i
arm ,
p s
F
h ow i n s p
g the
li n es
y t e m of d o u b l e n u l at or u e i n u en d n t h e w re n e t w ork fro m o l e an d t h e o w er
e a d i n g t o t h e m ot or i n t h e a
l
w ork a on g t h e s id
e o f t h e co n t ro
ara t u
l pl
h ou e ( ore rou n d )
s o e
a t m ay b e ee n i n t h e d is t an ce
u . P l s s pp i
o rt n g t h e rou n ed
P h g ph d
M ay 8,
g d n et
( ot o ra e
.

T he r y e whi ch w as growin g o the p l ats o f section E when the y n

were se l e cte d i n 1 9 1 3 w as cu t an d wei g he d T he results show th at .

the pro d u ct i veness o f the t w o p l ats was ab ou t the s ame b ein g as ,

follows : Y ie ld o f s ou th p l at
. p oun d s ; o f north p l at
,
p ounds ; ,

rat i o o f s ou th p l at t o nort h p l at
Exp i m en t s i n 1 9 1 4 — A network 1 6 fee t hi g h was erecte d over the
er .

s outh p l at h avi n g cross wi res at i nter v al s o f 1 5 fee t

, (F i g . .

W inter w h e at was s own o n b o th p l ats the fo ll owi n g O ctob er a n d the ,

tre atment w as g iven by me a ns o f the L o dg e —Newm an a pp ar atus ,

whi ch furnishe d a p ositive charge t o the ne twork a t a p otent i a l

r an g in g fro m to volts T he tre a tment w s give n i n . a

the fa l l an d spring fro m 3 t o 7 p m a to t a l o f 3 3 6 hours T he gr in

. .
, . a
was h arves ted in June 1 9 1 4 g ivin g yi e l ds which were su bs tant ially
, ,

th e s ame fo r b o th p l ats as shown i n T ab l e 2 ,

.
6 B ULLETIN 1 3 79 , U . 8 . D EP A R TM EN T or AG R ICUL TU RE

T AB LE 2 —Y i ld s
e of w i n t er w h e a t o n p s
la t fo llo w n g e lect ro cu lt u r a l t rea t m i en t ( po si
i s i i p i
.

t v e ch a rg e ) ,
e ct o n E , A rl n g t o n E x er m en t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 4

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n ds) R
pgg gt gl
i
o
ft
r
eat ed

Ex p er e a t was again sown in the autu mn of

i m en t s i n 1 9 1 5 — W h
1 914 The fall tre atment w a s omitted owing to b ad we ather In
.
, .

1 9 1 5 the network was charged positively b the L odge N ewman -

app a r a tus twice a d ay from 4 to 7 a m and rom 5 to

,
p m a . . . .
,

to t a l of 3 4 5 hours The dist a nce b etween the cross wires of the net
.

work this year w a s 6 feet The plats were divided at harvest into .

east and west halves The yi elds are shown in Table 3 . .

In both pl ats two b a d spots developed on the western halves in ,

whi ch the gr ain was much poorer than the average .

T AB LE 3 — Y i ld s
e of w i n t e r w h ea t o n p l t s f ll w i g
a o o n e lect r o cu
lt u r a l t rea t m en t ( p si o
i s i i gt E p im
.

t v e ch a r g e ) ,
e ct o n E , A r l n on x er en t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 5

Y i l ds ( p ds ) gg ggm
Ra o t ed
e ou n
c

Sh ock G i
ra n Sh ock G ra n i
s
E a t e rn
Tr
h al f
e at e d
:

Ws Ce
on
t e rn
t ol
h al f
r
:
Tr ae t ed
C o n t ro l
T o t al :
T re a t e d
C on t ro l

Exp eri m en t s i n the fall of 1 9 1 5 winter wheat w as a g ai n1 9 1 6 — In .

sown as i t was d es i red to get a test with t h e network charged

,

negatively a bou t volts inste ad of positively as heretofore

, ,
.

A powerful s tatic machine was used to supply t h e current .

,

was run from 4 p m to 8 a m d aily ( totaling 8 0 0 hours) during . . . .

the spring the fall tre atment being omitted ,

.

The lats were divided into e astern a n d western halves at the

time 0 harvest and ag a in showed consider a ble variation The .

yields are given in Table 4 .

T AB L E 4 — Y i ld s
e o f w i n t er w h ea t on pl t s
a fo llo wi n g e lect ro cu lt u ra l ( n eg a ti ve)
s ti i i
.

E, A rl g t o n Ex p e r m e n t F a r m
'
t re a t m en t, ec on n ,
in 1916

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n ds) Ra
z fi
gg te
o
c n
f tr
r
t ed

Sh oc k G i
ra n Sh ock G ra n i
h f
E as t ern a l :
d
T rea t e
C o t l
Wes t e h l f :
rn
n ro
a
T ea t e d "
C r
ont ro l
T o t al :
T reat e d
 EL E C TR O C UL T U R E 7

Ex er i m he at was again s o w n i n section E in

en ts in 1917 .
— W
Oct o er 1 9 1 6 and all owe d t o m ature the foll owi n g sum m er wi t hou t
, ,

tre atment as an ad ditional check o n the s o i l condi t ions A t time o f

,
.

harves t i n 1 9 1 7 the pl ats were again cut i nt o e astern an d western

halves the s out h pl at b e i n g the o ne which h ad received the elec
,

t ri c al tre atment i n pr evious y e ars T he y ields are shown i n T able 5 . .

C omp aris on w ith th e rye yi elds o f 1 9 1 3 shows that the s ou th

( tre ate d ) p l a t app arentl y ga i ned sligh t l y in i t s rel ative pro ductivity
the fi v e y e ar s b u t the chan g e is well wi thi n t h e errors o f field,

T AB LE 5 — Yi e hi s o f w i n t er w h ea t on pl ts
a i
w th ou t e le c t ro c u
‘
lt u r a l t r e a t m en t s
s i p im
.
,

e ct i o n E , A rl n g t on Ex er en t Farm i n 191 7

Y i el d s (p o u n d ) s 12 3
252;t 215?
1
)
0 1 to

N o rt h pla t
W es t e rn h a l f :

y r

Ex p er i m en t s i n 1 9 1 8 the f all o f 1 9 1 7 winter whe at ( C u rre ll ) .

—
In
was s own o n the p l ats i n s ecti o n E an d in the sprin g a inch m esh -

g alvaniz e d i ro n screen 1 3 2 fee t l on g b y 1 5 f eet hi gh w as erecte d 2 0

-

feet s ou th o f the check p l at I t w a s though t th at the gr oun d ed .

screen mi g h t pro tect th e n ort h p l at from the driftin g ch ar g e , b ut

l ater me asurements show th at i t is o f d oub tful val ue .

T he s tati c m ac hi n e was a g ain u se d , w ith the p osi tive p ol e co n

n e c t e d t o the network T he numb er o f cross w ir es was incre ased .

t o o n e ever y 3 feet Thi s i n cre as e d th e current and reduced the

.

p o tenti a l o f th e network t o a b out vo l ts .

Al thou g h the wi nter w as excep tion a lly c o l d the st an d i n the sprin g

was excell ent T re atment was st arted A pril 1 5 an d continu ed fo r
.

4 6 d a y s fro m 4 p m t o 8 a m e ach d a y , a t ot al o f 7 3 6 hours

. . . . .

A t h arves t the e as tern an d western ha l ves o f e ach pl at were kep t ‘

sep arate a n d we i g he d T h e yie ld s are sh o w n i n T able 6 . .

T AB L E 6 — Y i elds of w i n t e r w h ea t o n p i
la ts fo ll o w n g e le c t r o cu lt u r a l t re a t m en t ( po s i
i s i p i
.

t v e ch a r g e ) ,
e ct i o n E , A rl n g t o n E x er m e n t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 8

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n ds ) Ra
tzq zl
o i tr
c n tr
a t ed

S h oc k G i
ra n Sh o c k G i
ra n

H
 8 B U L L ETIN 1 3 79, U . s . D EP A RT ME NT OF A GR IC U LT UR E

A gener l view of the experim ent l field as i t appeared on

a a M ay 8 ,
1 9 1 8, i s shown in Figura l .

Af ter the 1 9 1 8 crop w a s h arves ted m e a surements of th e charge ,

c a rri ed by the wind were undertaken A fl a me collector w a s used .

,

which w a s connected to the gol d leaf of an electroscope the case ,

being groun ded A full sc a le deflection ‘

. of 2 5 divisions represented
-

a potenti a l of ab out volts In all the measurements t h e .

c ollector was hel d at a height of 1 meter ab ove the ground .

A light s outh wind was bl owing the d a y the measurements were

m ade W ith no ch a rge on the network a very slight defl ecti on of
.
,

the gold le a f could b e noticed W ith the network charged however .

, ,

the full sc a le defl ecti on occurred very rapidly at any point‘under and
-

wi thin 2 0 feet outside the network on all si des even to the s outh , ,

the di recti on from which the wind was coming A t 5 0 feet s outh .
,

only a b out 1 di visi on defl ecti on was obtained N orth from t h e net .

work t h e defl ecti on to full sc a le w a s slower and m ore irregul ar the

gre a ter the dis t a nce from t h e network and when only 2 fee t s outh of ,

the screen al ong the south side of t h e north pl a t the maximum d e fl e c

tion ob t a inabl e w a s about 2 0 divisi ons Jus t north of the grounded
'

screen the maximum deflecti on ob t a ined w a s ab out 9 divisions A s .

the collect or w a s m oved farther north from t h e screen and into the
control pl a t the defl ecti on a g a in increased until at the center of the
, ,

control l at i t w a s off the scale again The rounded screen along

the s out side of the c ontrol pl at thus affo r d e tIli ttle pro tecti on from
.

the drifting ch a rge A t a point feet from th e network the

.
,

l as t point observed a full scale d efl ecti on was ob tained A t all

,
-
.

p oints b eyond 1 0 0 feet from the netwo rk over the s outh pl at the
deflecti on was very irregul a r and u n s te ady .

The W e a t h er B ur eau records show that during the 4 6 d ays o f

tre a tment in the wind w a s due s outh only 3 d a ys Owing to .

the dis tance of 3 5 0 feet b etween the tre ated and control pl ats the ,

wind woul d h ave t o b e nearly due s outh to carry any appreci able
ch arge over the c ontrol pl at .

SU M MA R Y O F EX E IM E N TS IN P R S EC TION E

The rel ative y ields of the south ( tre ated ) and north pl ats in section
E are summ arized in Table 7 .

T AB LE 7 —Su m m a ry o f i ld s
y e f
o r ye a n i
d w n t er w h ea t o n t h e o u t h ( t re a t ed ) a n d s
ts s ti i i s
.

n o rt h ( u n t r ea t ed ) p la ec on E, A r l n g t o n Ex p er m e n t F a r m , i n s i x t a t ed
ye a r s ,

i
R at o of i l d of R at i o o f y i el ds o f
T reat m en t s o uth t o n o t h p l at s
y e
r
s

T re at m e n t s ou t h t o o t h p l at s
n r

Y ear C ro p spl
o f ou t
at
h Y e ar C ro p sp
of ou t
l at
h

1 9 13
1 9 14
Ry e
W h eat
N
Po tsi i
on e 1916
1917
Wh do
eat N eg at i e
No
v

P si t i e
ve - ne
191 5 - _d o do 19 18 - do o v

is evi dent from t h e summ ary that the el ectrical treatmen t di d not
It
pro duce any sensible incre ase in yiel d A n examin ation of the detailed .

results for 1 9 1 5 shows that the somewhat higher r a tios ob tained dur
ing this unfavor a bl e ye ar are due to a m arked decre ase in yiel d I n
 E L E C T R O C UL T UR E

hal f o f t h e contro l pl at A si d e from t hi s there app e ars t o b e a gradu al

. .
,

incre as e i n the to t al yi el d of the s ou th p l at re l ative t o t h e north o n e ,

ir resp ec tive o f whe ther a p osi tive charge a negative ch ar g e o r n o , ,

ch arg e at all was use d I t is o f i n teres t t o no te th at the grain r at i os

.

wi th a p ositive charge o n the network are all sli g htl y hi g h er than the
rat i o i n 1 9 1 7 when n o tre atm ent was given ; wi th the n egative charg e
,

the revers e i s true T hi s s eems consis ten t fo r if i ncre asin g the p os i

.
,

tive g radi ent o f the e l ectros t atic fi el d ten ds t o s timu l ate g rowth then ,

t o revers e the si g n o f the fiel d m a y p erh ap s ten d t o in hi b i t growt h .

Op o s e d t o t hi s sp ec u l ati on i s the f ac t th at the n egative fi el d app ar

ent y h a d n o e ffec t o n the rat i o o f th e t o ta l yiel ds o f the t w o pl ats .

I n b rie f w hi l e there is som e evi denc e o f a sli g ht incre as e i n gra in

,

yi eld when whe at is grown un der a n e twork wh i ch is p ositivel y ch arge d

t o a hi gh p o tenti a l the o bserve d e ffec t i s s o sm al l th at i t i s wel l wi thi n
,

the exp eri m ent a l errors o f fi e ld tri al s .

EH ER IIVIENTS IN S EC TIO N B

Ex p eri m en t s i n 1 9 1 1 T he fir s t ele c t ro cu l t u ral fiel d exp eri m ents at

.
—
Arl i n g ton Experim ent F arm were m a de i n 1 9 1 1 wi th g rai s in sec n

tion B emplo yin g a pl at whi ch h a d b een s ee d e d i n s trips t o whe at

,

the previous fa ll In the sprin g o f 1 9 1 1 a n etwork o f sm al l w ir e was

.

i ns t all e d o ver th e e astern ha lf o f th e pl at , c ove ri n g ha lf o f e ach

vari et y T he ne twork was 7 fee t high w i t h wir es at i nterval s o f 3
.

fee t co n n ec te d t o t h e p o sitive p o l e o f a st ati c m achin e op erating at

,

a p o tenti al o f ab ou t 4 0 t o 50 kil o vo l ts T he m ac hi n e was i n o pe ra .

tion six d a y s a we ek from 3 p m t o 7 a m excep t durin g rai n y . . . .

we ather from e arl y spring t o h arves t .

T abl e 8 shows t h e rel at i ve yi el d s o f the tre ate d an d co ntro l h al ves .

TA L
B E8 — Y i ld s f w i t wh
e t op l t s f ll w i g l t lt l t t m t ( p si
n er ea on a o o n e ec r o cu u ra r ea en o

ti h g ) s ti B A li gt E p im
.

ve c ar e ,
t F
ec m ion 1911 ,
r n on x er en ar ,
n

Y i l ds p
e er a cre ( p ou n d ) s
V ar et y i T re at ed h al f C on t ro l h a lf

Ex p er i m en t s i n 1 9 1 2 In the f all o f 1 9 1 1 o n e variet y o f whe at ,

—

C urre ll ( C u rrell s P r o lifi c) , was s o wn o n sectio n B , an d the ne twork

’

was a g a i n erec t ed at the height o f 7 fee t with cro ss wires 3 fe e t a art ,

as b efore T he tre ate d an d con tro l pl ats e ach h a d an are a o f t e e
.

fourths o f an acre T hi s y e ar the n e two rk was ch arge d with a

.

S h o o k Ro en tgen s e t , whi c h c onsist e d o f an i nverte d ro t ar y c o nverter

-

suppl y n g a 0 vo l t curren t t o a 1 ki l o wat t

i 1 6 — vo l t trans form er - -
.

A m echan i c a l rectifier was u se d o n the h igh tension s i d e t o o b t ain a -

osi tive char g e o n the ne twork , the o ther termin a l o f th e trans

porm er b e i n g g roun d e d Even wi t h this s e t i t w a s n o t p ossib l e t o
.

ch ar g e the n etwork mu c h ab ove vol ts T he tre atmen t was .

g iven d aily from 3 t o 7 p m except Sun d ays an d during b a d w e ather . .

, .

A t h arves t t h e weights sho wn I n T a bl e 9 were rec orde d .

6 2 1 4 9 — 2 6—
°
2
10 B ULL E TI N 1 3 79, U . 8 . D EP A R T M EN T OF AG R I CUL T UR E

T AB LE 9 — Y e ld of w i s i n t er w h e a t o n p l t s f ll wi g
a o o n e le ct ro cu lt u r a l t rea t m en t p si
( o
s i i gt E p i
.

t i v e ch a r g e ) , ect o n B , A rl n on x er m en t F a rm , i n 1 9 1 2

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n ds ) Ra t io o f t reat e dt o co n t ro l

Ex p er i m en t s i n 1 9 1 3 the fall of 1 9 1 2 the s a me pl a t in s ection B

.
— In
was ag a in sown to wheat The 7 foot n etwork of the previous year .
-

was repl aced by a permanent one 1 6 feet high with cross wires 1 0 ,

y a rds ap a rt The new network was erected over the northern h alf
.

of the pl a t instead of the eastern half as in preceding ye a rs The .

network w a s ch a rged p o s i t i v el w ith the L odge N ewm a n app aratus r

and the tre atment was given ( fa ily from 4 p m t o 8 a m

-
,

. . . .

The treated and c ontrol portions eac h had an a re a of three fourths -

of a n acre A t harves t t h e weights shown in T a ble 1 0 were recorded

. .

After the wh eat was cut cowpeas were sown on the B plat on ,

July 2 9 1 9 1 3 ,
.

The static m achine w a s connected to the network ( 1 6 feet high ) ,

giving a b out 4 0 to 5 0 kilovolts The m a chine ( positive ch arge ) was .

run four hours a d a y from 3 to 7 p m for 3 2 d a ys On account of . . .

the la teness of the s eason t h e C owpe a s were cut for hay After b eing ,
.

st a cked and cured the crop was weighed in t h e field by means of a

,

tripod a n d spring b a l a nce showing the following yields : Treated por ,

tion ,
pounds ; control portion pounds ; ratio of tre a ted to ,

control ,

T AB LE 10 Y i ld s
e f
o w i t
n er w h ea t on pl ts f
a o llo w n i g e lect ro c u
lt u r a l t r ea t m en t ( p si
o
i s ti i i
.

t v e ch a r g e ) ,
ec on B , A rl n g t o n E x p er m en t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 8

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n d s) R at i o
é efi
t
c
f tr
ni r
t ed t o

— y

Ex p er i m en t s i n 1 9 1 4 — C orn was pl anted in the lat on M a y 2 4 ,

. B
1 9 1 4 , a n d the network ( 1 6 feet high ) was connecte directly to one
wire of a —volt 3 phase 2 5 —cycle a ltern a ting current power line
- -

running p as t the farm The voltag e was on continuously d ay and .

night for 1 1 0 d a ys w hen the corn was cut and the total weights,

recorded in the field I t was then sho cked and given time t o dry . .

Husking w as done in th e fi eld on Octob er 9 1 9 1 4 and the grain and , ,

fodder brought to a pl a tform b a l a nce in the b arn a n d weighed Th e .

superi n tend ent of the f a rm expressed the O pinion that th e tr e ated

pl at h a d h a d some a dvant a ge over the check plat as regards soil
mois ture conditions The yields shown in Table 1 1 were recorde d . .
 L C R O C UL T U R E
E E T

TA B LE 1 1 — Y e ld of i s co rn on p la t s f ll w i g l t
o o n e ec ro cu lt u r a l t re a t m en t ( a lt er n a t i n g
s ti li g t E p im
.

ch a r g e) , ec on B, Ar n on x er en t F a rm , i n 1 9 1 4

R at i o of t reat ed t o co n t ro l

C on t ro l

E xp eri m en t s i n T he corn was followe d b y r y e which was

1 91 5 — .

s own i n s ect i on B o n Octo b er 2 2 , 1 9 1 4 Th e —volt tre atm ent .

a l tern at i n g ch ar g e was s t arte d No v em b er 5 an d m aint aine d continu

o u s ly t i ll J u n e 2 4 , 1 9 1 5 T his y ear at t i m e o f harves t e ac h p l at
.

( tre ate d an d co ntro l) was d i vi d ed i nto e as tern an d wes tern h alves ,

an d e ac h s ect i on was wei g he d s ep arate ly t o s h ow an y i nequ ali ties i n
s o i l condit i ons .

Th e yi e ld s recor d e d at h arves t showe d a l ack o f un if ormi t y i n t h e

p l ats , b u t g ave n o ev i denc e o f a s ensi b le i ncre as e i n yi el d d u e t o t h e
e l ectri ca l tre atm e nt T he resu l ts are s h own i n T a bl e 1 2
. .

T AB LE 12 i s
—Y e ld o r e o n
f y p la t s fo llo w i n g e lect r o c u lt u r a l t r e a t m en t ( a l t ern a t i n g
s i i i
.

ch a rg e ) , ect o n B , A r l n g t o n Ex p er m en t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 5

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n d)s
S h o ck G i
ra n

Eas t ern hal f :

T reat ed
W esTt erenath adl f:
r
e
C on t rol
T o t al :
T reat e d
C on t rol

Exp eri m en t s i n 1 9 1 6 In or d er t o m e asure t h e re l at i ve — e l di n g

°

. .

p o we r o f t h e t w o p l ats ( tre ate d an d c o n tro l ) un d er n orm a con di

t i ons w h e at w as a g ai n s o w n i n t h e fall o f 1 9 1 5 an d all owe d t o m ature
'

t h e fo ll owi n g s u mm er wi t h ou t el ec tri c al tre atm en t o f e i ther pl at .

T abl e 1 3 s h ows t h e fig ur es recor d e d at h arves t , t h e nort h p l at b ein g

t h e tre ate d p l a t o f t h e t hre e p rece di ng ye ars .

T AB LE 1 3 — Yi e ld s o f w i n t erw h ea t o n p l ts a i
w th o u t e le ct ro c u lt u r a l t re a t m en t s
i i p im
.
,

s ect o n B, A rl n g to n Ex er en t F a rm ,
i n 1916

Y i ld s ( p d s) Ra ‘
ggfgfi 3 32
11 to
e ou n
l 1

S h ock G rai n S h ock G rai n

Eas t ern h al f
N o rt h pl a t
S ou t h pl at
W esN t ern
o rt h
h lf
a :
pl
at
S ou t h p
l at
T ot a : l
N
o rt h pl at
S
ou t h p l at
12 B ULLE TI N 1 3 79 , U . s . D EP A R TM E N T OF AG RI CUL TURE

S U B/[M A RY O F EX E P RM I E NT S I N S EC TI ON B

The 1 9 1 6 resul ts show ab out 1 5 per cent difference in the yi el d of

the pl ats when no electrical treatment was used the control pl at
-

givi ng the hi her yiel d Dur i ng the precedi n g thr ee years the yi el ds
of the two p gats were a p ro x i m a t ely equ al If the 1 9 1 6 results are
.

a ccep ted as i ndi cating t e rel a tive pro ducti v i ty of the two pl ats

under norm al conditions the conclusion follows that dur in g the pre ,

ce ding t hr ee years the ele c t ro c u lt u ral treatment increased the yiel d

1 5 p er cent or more and that an alternating ch a rge on the network
was equ ally as effective as a hi gh positive charge D uring the time .

the ne twork was connecte d to the al ternating current p ower l i ne the -

charge was changing sign 50 t i mes per second the m aximum gradient ,

was ab out volts p er meter and there was no a pre ci ab le ioniz a ,

tion at the network The condi tions were so di e re n t from those

.

prevailing when the network was char ed to a steady high positive

o tenti a l that i t seems hi ghl y i m b b e that the effect on the grow
p p r o a

m g cro woul d b e the s ame unl ess the effec t is nil under b o th condi
tions t e 1 9 1 6 resul ts no t being represent a tive The l a tter conclu
,
.

sion seems the more prob able and this is supported b y the ex p eri ,

ments in section A whi ch follow .

P
EX E IM E NT SR IN S EC TION A

A pl at in s ecti on A of the s ame dim ensi ons as t h e one in B was als o

used for ele c t r o c u lt u r al tests The north h alf of this pl at was .

equi p ed wi th a 1 6 foot network simil a r t o the B network ex cept that

-

i t h a twi ce as m any cross wires ( 5 y a rds apart ) The two networks .

were connected electri c a lly s o th at b oth received the s am e charge ,

.

Exp er i m en t s i n 9 4
1 1 — S oyb e a ns were pl a nted i n secti on A in June
.
,

1 9 1 4 and subj ecte d t o a

,
volt 2 5 cycle tre a tment ( alternating - -

ch a rge ) continuously from July 1 5 to Octob er 1 9 when the cro was ,

h a rvested The total weigh t of the cro p from e ach pl at W a s eter

.

mined j us t after cutting agai n after drying in the field and fina lly , ,

after threshing Th e weights recorded are shown i n Table 1 4

. .

T AB LE 14 — Y i ld s
e of s o ybe a n s on p l t s f ll wi g l t
a o o n e ec r o c u lt u r a l t r e a t m en t s ( a l ter
i s ti A li g t E p im
.

n at n g ch a r g e ) ,
ec on A ,
r n on x er en t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 4

Y i l ds ( p
e ou n ds) R at io o f t rea t e d t o con t ro l

Exp er i m en t s i n 1 91 5 — . After the pl at had b een pl owed and put in

good shap e rye was s eeded on October 22 1 9 1 4 and th e
,
vol t , ,
-

treatment ( a lternating charge ) was s tarte d N ovember 5 and m ain

t a i n e d continuously until h a rvest Th e field was di vi ded int o four .

equal p arts when the rye was cut to get s ome i de a of the soil vari ati on ,

in the e astern and western h a lves of the pl a ts A t h arves t tim e t h e .

crop u n der th e network showed a much b etter growth th an the con

trol pl a t but this was prob ably owing to soil conditi ons rather th an
,

to the electri ca l tre a tm ent as in di cated by the comp arative tes t t h e ,

followin g year The yields o b tained are sho w n in Tabl e 1 5

.
 ELECTRO C U LTU RE 13

i s s
TAB L E 1 5 — Y e ld of r ye o n p l a t fo llo w n g ele ct r o cu lt u ra l t rea t m en t i s ( a l t ern a t i n g
s i i p i
.

ch a r g e) , e ct on A , A r l n g t o n Ex er m en t F a rm , i n 1 9 1 5

Y i l ds ( p
e o un d)s
Sh o ck G i
ra n Sh o ck G ra i n

—_ n

E as t ern h alf :
T reat e d
C o n t ro l
W st
e e rn h al f :
T reat e d
C ont ro
T ot a
l
l:
C on t ro l
1 40.

Ex eri m en t s i n was a g a i n s own i n s ection A in t h e

—R e
y
fall 0 1 9 1 5 an d a ll owe d t o m atur e wi t h ou t e l ectri c tre atment Th is .

crop w as cut i n June , 19 1 6 , gi vi n g t h e yi e ld s s h own in T ab l e 1 6 , t h e

nort h p l at b e i n g t h e p l a t tre a te d d ur i n g t h e t w o p re ce d in g y e ars .

T A B LE 16 — Yi el ds of r ye on p la ts wi t h o u t elect ro cu lt u r a l t r ea t m
- en t s s ti ec on A,
i p
.
,

A rl g t o n Ex eri m en t F a r m , i n 1 9 1 6
’
n

Y i lds (p
e ou n ds )

S h o ck G i
ra n G ra n i

E as t ern h alf
N ort h
S ou t h
West ern h alf :
N ort h
S ou t h
T ot al :
N ort h
S ou t h

S U MM A R Y O F EX E P RIM E NT S I N S EC T IO N A

A comp ari son o f t h e yi el ds o b t ai n e d i n th e fiel d tri al s i n s ection

A gi ves n o evi d enc e o f an i ncre ase d yi el d accomp an yi n g the us e o f
an al tern at i n g c h ar g e o n the ne twork .

ELEC TR O C U LT U RA L EXP ERIM EN T S IN TH E P L A N T H O USE

T R A NS PIR ATI ON
T he e ffect ver y hi gh p o tent i al gr a di en t o n the tr ansp i ration
of a

rat e was i nves ti g ate d i n p l ant h ous e experi m en ts in W ashin g ton in -

1913 .L ar g e g alvan i z e d iron b ucke ts were fill e d with m ois t soi l

-

an d fi tte d wi t h sp eci al covers t o preven t ev ap orat i on from the soi l .

Six ro o te d g era n i um cu ttin g s were p l ant e d i n e ac h p o t t hr ou g h

h o l es i n t h e cover th e O p e n i n g aroun d t h e s tem o f the p l an t b ein g
,

s e al e d wi t h w ax .

T he i n i t i al we i gh ts were t aken o n Febru ar y 1 5 1 9 1 3 an d the , ,

p l ants were all owe d t o gro w un t i l Fe b ru ar y 2 0 wi thou t tre at men t ,

t o d e term i n e the re l at i ve transp i rat i on o f t w o s e ts O f s i x p o ts e ach .

One se t was t h en p l ace d un der an i nsu l ate d fram e co vere d wi th

galvan i z e d wi r e screen o f A
- 1 i n c h m esh w hi l e the c ontro l se t was-
,

pro tecte d from t h e di sc h ar g e by b e i n g p l ace d i nsi d e a F ara d ay

 B U L LETI N 1 3 79, U . s . D EPA T MEN T O F
R A GRI C U L TU RE

ca e of inch mesh Th e frame was connected to the posi t i ve

0g
-
.

"
e of the st a tic m a chine the o ther pol e b eing grounded The
frame was ch a rged four hours a d a y from 3 to 7 p m from Febru ary
, .

"
, .
.
,

2 1 to M a rch 24 The pl ants were again allowed to g row wi thout

.

tre atment from M arch 2 5 to A pril 7 During e ach perio d weigh .

ings were m a de to determine the loss due to transpiration and ,

water was added when necess a r to m aintain approxim ately the

initi a l moisture content of the soil?
Tabl e 1 7 shows the r a te of transpir a tion for e ach p o t d u ri ng the
three p erio ds and the r a tio of the treated to the co n trol set I t .

will b e no te d tha t during the p erio d of treatment no sensibl e change

occ u rred in the transpiration ratio .

T AB LE 1 7 — Tr a n spi t i ra on ra te o f g er a n i u m pl tsan in p ts o u nd er e lect ro cu lt u ra l

pl s sh i g t D C
.

t re a t m en t i n th e an t hou e at W a n on , . .
,
i n 19 13

T ra n spi i
ra t o n ra t e p er h o u r ( gram s)

N o t rea t m e n t T rea t m t peri o d N0 t reat m en t

d s ig
en
P ot e i
n at o n

M ar . 1 M ar . 5
to 5 t o 13

M e an 8 35. 7 61. 1 0 91
.

M ean 8 23. 7 71. 1 0 70

.

Rat i o of t re a t e dt o co n t ro l 99

The to tal transp i ration from the treated an d control sets of p otte d
geranium pl ants for the three experimental perio ds i s given in
Tabl e 1 8 .

T AB LE 18 — To t a l t ra n spi t i f g i ra on o era n u m pl ts i p ts d i
an n o u r n g t h e t h r ee ex p eri
p i s i th pl t h s t W sh i g t D C
.

m en t a l er o d n e an ou e a a n on i n 19 13

"
,
. .
,

T o t al t ran spi i
ra t o n ( k il o

D e sign at o n i NO t reat
T reat "
No t reat
m en t , m en t,
F eb 1 5 .

F
pe
31
M ar . 25
t o 20
ig / 2 ? t o A pr 7 .

T re at e ds et
C on t ro l s et

Ra t io of t rea t e d t o co n t ro l
16 B ULL E TI N 1 3 79 , U . s . D EP AR TMEN T OF AG R I CUL T URE

will in cre a se the yield of crops growing under i t The electrical .

tre a tment w a s usu a lly given duri ng the early morning and late -

afternoon hours The general experi mental pro cedure w a s s i milar

.

to tha t employed in experiments in England 111 which the electrical

treatment is rep orted to h a ve give n increased yields .

These experi ments do no t show any well d efi n e d incre a se in yield -

due to electric a l tr e a tment T here is an in dication of a slight .

inc re a se in the yield of whe a t when grown under a p ositively ch a rged

network but the observed increase is well within the exp erimental
,

error of field tri a ls .

The results of these field experiments a r e summarized in T able 1 9 .

The relative pro ductivity of the plats when no t subj ected to the
electric a l field was determined in order to provide additional inform a
tion i n interpreting the results a precaution which has not b een ,

generally o bserved by o ther investig a tors A discussion of the .

yields from each section will b e found in the tex t emb odying the
descrip tion of the exp eriments .

T AB LE 1 9 — Su m m a ry o f th e re u s lt s o f th e e lect r o cu lt u ra l s i s ti s A
ex p im er en t n ec on
i p i st t d y s ,
.

B, an d E , A rl n g t o n Ex er m en t F a r m , i n a e ea r

"
d a d co t l p l t s i sect i o s A a d B w e e each t h ee ou t o f a ac e i n a ; t o e i n e t on
[T h e t rea t e f hs h s s i
h f a e ch s p t e d b y a i t —C l
n n ro a n n n r r -
r n r re a c
E a l an l 0 1 350 f et A bb i t i s d ym b l um 2 C =C O
pe as ( p t fo h y) ; R = W i t er y e ; S= So y b e s ; W = W i t e w eat C N b s f
cre a e ara n n e rv a e rev a on an s o s o n : W
h
.
,

o um 3 um l
p di g t b l es C l m n 4 A = 25 cy cl e l t e t i g c
cro cu r a n re e er an n r n : r r
N g i
.

t; = t e tme t; t N N
di ect cu e t ; = P s i t i e di ect cu e t C o l m 1 2 = e o f t t e t e i Y i l d pl s d p i s s]
to rece n a . o u o : e -
e a rn a n u rren r a n a v
*
r rr n o v r e v ou ye
rr n . u n : a r a n r ar

Net w o r k t re a t m en t Y i l ds ( p
e ou n d s)

i
T me of
t rea t m
s) en t D ry sh k oc G ra ni
(h
S ect i on an d d at e C ro p
ou r

8 9 10

2, 7 7 6 2, 44 6 81 1 3 .

2, 6 6 2 1 , 758 98 1
*
2 70 0 2 558 1 147 5

1 04
.

W 1 03
.

4 1 28 1 80 7 1 , 84 7
C o rn 6 952
2 83 6
2 89 2
1 04 6
3 0 16 3 4 12 86 1

4 33 6 2 33 2 2, 28 1 644 8

6 3 4 5 1 54 8 l, 362 6 24 5. 1 14 1 03

6 800 2 528 2, 444 6 72

6
1 90
73 6 2 820 2, 63 9 ‘
1 0 50
,

F om 4 p 3 F 4 to 7 m d f ro m 5 to p
to 8 a m
Pl s s p
ro m
s
1 r In a an In
d by g ded i
. .

F ro m 3 t o 7 p m
. . . . . .

2 . .
4 at e a rat e ro u n W re cree n .
 L C R O C UL T UR E
E E T 17

Plan t house exp e ri m en ts we re also m ade on th e e ffec t o f an e l ec tri c

i

ch arge on th e tran spiration ra te an d th e water re quiremen t o f pl an ts .

The e ffec t ob serve d w as we ll wi thi n the e rro rs o f exp eri men t .

Th e use of ele c t ro cu l t u ral me t ho ds in their p resen t s ta te o f develop

men t as a p ractical me ans o f increasin g th e yiel d o f c rop s i n this coun try
i s n o t reco m m ended .

REV IEW O F O T H ER IN V ES TI G A TI O N S IN EL E C T R O C U L T U RE
Ele c t ro cu l t u ral exp er im en ts m a y b e divi d e d in to t w o m ain cl ass es :
( 1 ) T hose in whi ch the so il i s the m ediu m o f con du c tion an d ( 2 )
thos e in w hi ch th e a i r is th e me dium o f con duc tion Exp eri m en ts o f .

the fi rs t class co ve r th e us e o f so il currents resul ti n g ( 1 ) from an

extern ally ap plie d elec tromo tive fo rce , ( 2 ) from th e galvanic action
o f the so i l mo is ture o n z in c an d co pp er pl ates b urie d in the groun d ,
an d ( 3 ) fro m the use o f me talli c up ri g hts design e d t o co llec t an d
c arry a tmosph eri c electricit y t o t h e so i l Exp erim ents o f the s econ d .

cl ass are thos e in which th e no rm al air e arth curren t is i n cre ase d b y -

me ans o f a hi g hly ch arge d n e two rk o ve r the pl an ts o r de creas e d b y

i n clos i n g the pl an ts i n a groun de d c a g e m ade o f m e tal screen .

EX E IM P R ENTS W ITH S O IL C U RR E NT S

A mon g the fi rs t exp erimen ts wi t h so il cu rren ts o n a l arg e sc al e

were those by Ro ss p rio r t o 1 8 4 4 (44) i n N ew Y o rk H e bu rie d a
, ,
.

coppe r pl ate 5 fee t b y 1 4 i nch es p erp en dic ul arl y i n the e arth w ith
the 5 fo o t e dge h o ri z on tal an d a t a di st ance o f 2 0 0 fe e t a z i n c p l at e
-
,

o f the s ame di mension s w as s i mi l r ly b uri e d T he t w o pl ates wer a . e

connecte d a b o ve the g ro u n d fo rm i n g a g alvan i c cel l Po ta to es were ,

.

dri ll e d in rows b etween th e p l ates an d al so in a s im i l ar p l a t wi thou t

pl ates A t th e en d o f the expe ri men t som e o f th e p o ta to es from b ot h
.

pl ats were measure d those fro m the tre a te d pl at avera g in g ,

in ches in di ameter whi l e thos e from th e con tro l avera g e d onl y h a lf

,

an in ch Th e to tal we i gh ts a t h arves t are n o t g i ven an d conclusive

.
,

assuran ce th a t th e t w o are as we re o f e qu al ferti l i t y a t t h e ou ts e t i s

l ackin g Th e sup p os e d b en efi cial effec t is ren dere d d ou b t ful throu gh
.

the subs equen t dis con tinu ance o f s o si mp l e a tre a t men t .

A b ou t thi s ti m e Soll y (46 ) con d u cte d in En g l an d 7 0 smal l tes ts

sim i l ar i n p rincip l e t o those o f Ro ss the p l a tes b e i n g 4 by 5 i n ch es ,

an d sp ace d onl y 6 i n ch es ap art Grains ve g e tables an d flowe rs .

, ,

we re pl an te d b e twe en the e l ec tro d es On comp arin g th e app e aranc e .

o f the tre ate d an d un tre ate d pl an ts a b eneficial e ffect was re co rde d

in 1 9 c ases a h armfu l e ffec t in 1 6 cas es a d n o e ffe c t i n 3 5 case s
, ,
n .

Soll ( zo n clu d e d tha t e l ec tric i t y h as p rac tical l y n o e ffec t o n plan t

y

g ro w t II
F i t ch n h as recorde d l arg e i cre ases fro m t re atm en t with
er (1 6 ) n

galvani c currents Fro m his fi gur es a l on e t he ex p er i ments woul d

.

in dic at e i ncre ases o f 1 6 t o 1 2 7 p er cen t du e t o tre atm en t T he .

s t atem en t w as m ade h owever th at th e tre t e d p l at s were provi de d

, ,
a

with dr ains b u t th at t h e con tro l ) l at s were n o t Such c ondi tions d o

n o t cons ti tu te go o d ex p erim ent al prac ti ce an d l e ave the result s o pen
.

t oqu est i on T h i s s am e obj ect i on ho l ds f r ac comp anyin g e p i

. o x er

m ents o n the d ecomp o s i n g action o f the g al v an i c curren t o n s o i l .

6 21 4 9
°
—2 6 —3
18 B ULLE T I N 1 3 79 , U . 8 . D EP AR TM E N T OF AG R I CUL T UR E

In 1 88 1 F Elfv i n g ( 1 5 ) undertook an interesting series of ex p e ri

,
.

ments wi th di fl e r en t see dl ings growin g in culture solutions through

’

whi ch he p a ssed b a ttery cur rents of different strengths After .

germination the seedlings were mounted on corks wh ich were flo ated

in the solution b etween electro des 6 by 4 centimeters in size He .

foun d that in ne a rl every case the roo t woul d turn and grow in a
direction against t hat of the electric current Pl ates of carbon .

,
zinc and pl atinum were used and all gave the s ame e ffect Elfv i n g
, , .

attributes this phenomenon of orientation to the slowing u of the

growth on the side of the roo t toward the p ositive pole Thi s same .

pheno m enon was no ticed by Plowm a n (40 4 1 ) in 1 9 0 2— 0 3 , .

H o ld e fl e i s s (2 3 ) in 1 8 84 selected several rows of sugar b eets i n a

fiel d whi ch showed a goo d s tand and uniform conditions In this .

fiel d copper pl a tes 5 0 centimeters squ a re were sunk perpendicularly

in the round 5 0 centimeters deep so that the pl ates include d two ,

rows 0 b eets A t the other end of the rows 5 6 meters distant

.
, ,
o ther pl a tes were sun k and be tween the two a 1 4 cell M eidinger ,
-

b attery was connected Thi s s ame arrangemen t was used on a po t a to .

fiel d Further experiments were conducted with copper and zinc

.

pl a tes 3 3 meters ap a rt connected by a solid copper wire The report .

of the experi ments stated in substance : ,

( 1 ) Th a t an e le c t r c i c u rr e np s t ll t
t w as t d pl t s t hre engh t th on a re a e a ro u ou e
s s it p s
ea on s re e n ce b i g d t m i d by
e n e er s si t i l t m t ; ( 2) t h t t h
n e a en v e e e c ro e er a e
ws f b ts p t t s b t w pl t s w h i h w
,

ro d
o ee an o a oe e een t d t a th
e b tt y c e re c o n n e c e o e a er
s h w d d iff
o e n o e re n c e i gn wt h rot y st g f th i d
a l pm an t ; (3 ) t h t t h
a e o e r ev e o en a e
b ts
ee d p t t an o a oe s i ws b tw th i
n ro epp m bi
een ti s ss m d
e z n c- c o er co na on a u e a
s m w h t f sh
o e a re er a n d st g pp
ro n b
er a t 10 d s ft t h b g i i g f
e a r a n ce a ou ay a er e e n n n o
th ep im t
ex er en ,
an d th h e st sh w d i
a rv e s d y i ld g i g f m 1 5 t
o e an n c re a e e ra n n ro o
24 p e r ce n t .

I t shoul d b e remembered however th a t in ex eri m en t s with soil , ,

currents the p a th of the current is no t wholl y the most direct

route from one el ectro de to the o ther bu t t a t the lines of flow ,

spre ad out through the soil in a way simil a r to the spre ading of the
lines of force b etween the poles of a b ar m agnet .

Experiments conducte d by VVo lln y (48 ) included five pl a ts 4 by 1

m eter e a ch in siz e sep a r a te d by a p ath meters wide and by b o ards
sunk 2 5 centime ters in t h e groun d On pl ats l to 3 a zinc pl ate .

w a s sunk a t b o th of the n arrow sides a n d these were connecte d a s ,

follows : Plat 1 induction coil operated by t hr ee M eidinger elements ;

,

pl a t 2 a b attery of six M eidinger elements ; pl at 3 a b atte ry of

, ,

three M eidinger el ements On pl at 4 a zinc pl ate was sunk on one .

end and a copper pl a t e at the o ther the two being connected above ,

groun d by a copper wire Pl at 5 constituted a check or control pl at . .

Ea ch pl at was di vi de d into four equal p arts 1 square meter e ach

in are a and seeded N umbers of pl ants up o n different d a tes showed .

practically no effect for any of the differen t tre a tments The yiel ds .

recorde d at harves t time b a se d on an equal numb er of pl ants per ,

square meter are shown in Table 2 0 ,

.
 E E T L C R O CUL T UR E

TA L E 20 — Y
B i lds
e f
o r ye , ra p e, bea n , an d p o ta to pl t s an ft er
a e le ct r o cu lt u r a l t r e a t
s i
.

m en t in 1 883 , a cco r d n g to W o lln y

Y i l ds p
e er s q u a re m e t er ( gr am ) s
T re at m e n t
Ry e ,
pl s Ra
pla
pe ,

s 42
B ean
pl a
s s P pl ss
, o t a t oe ,

42 an t 42 n t n t 5 an t

Thes e recor d s sho w th at i n ne arl y all c a s e s t h e control pl at ga v e

the b es t yi e l ds b u t further exp eri m ents were con ducte d i n 1 8 8 6 an d
,

1 88 7 . T he g roun d was well worke d over an d four pl ats 1 6 by 2 ,

m e ters were se l ecte d , S ep arate d from e ac h o ther by p aths m eters

wi de an d b or d ere d b y wo o den l at h walls E ach pl at was di vi de d .

i nto eight sm aller p l ats 2 m eters s qu are an d a ll were g iven e qu al

a pplic ations o f m anur e On the sm al l e n ds o f the fo ur l ar g e pl ats
.

z inc pl ates 2 m eters by 3 0 cent i me ters i n are a were sun k p e r p e n

d i c u l arly an d connec te d ab o ve groun d t hroug h an i n duction coi l
O p erate d b y 4 o r 5 ce lls fo r p l at 1 an d t h rou g h a 4 o r 5 ce ll b atter y
fo r p l at 2 Pl at 3 serve d as a contro l an d p l at 4 ha d a copp er pl ate
.
,

a t o n e en d d irect ly co nnec te d by a copp er w ir e wi th a zin c l at e at

the o the r en d D i agon al l y l yi n g pl ats were p l an te d with t 6 s am e
.

crops t h e gr ains b ein g drille d t o g i ve a uniform p l antin g T he

,
.

p resenc e o f a cur rent o n a ll tre ate d pl ats was n o te d b y the us e o f a

g alvanome ter Throu gh ou t the se aso n t h ere was n o p ercep tibl e
.

d i fi e ren c e i n g rowth b e tween tre ate d an d contro l pl ats durin g e i ther

y e ar Th e comp ar at i ve yield weights are sho wn in T a b l e 2 1
.
-
.

T AB LE 21 — Y i lds
e bf v eg e t a ble cro ps aft e r e lect r o c u lt u ra l t r ea t m en t s in 1 886 an d
i
.

1 88 7 , a cco r d n g t o W o lln y

Y i lds p pl
e er at 2 m et er ss q u a re ( gr am ) s
T reat m en t

Ry e
,
Ra pe P s ea B ean s C o rn B e et s

From thes e exp eri ments W o lln y c oncl u d e d tha t an e l ectrica l cur
rent con d ucte d throu gh s oi l i n w h ic h p l ants were g ro w ing h a d i n .

genera l n o i nfluence o r p oss ib ly a h armfu l e ffec t o n t h e p ro d u cti v e

ness o f t h e p l ants .

L e i ces ter (2 9 3 0 ) us e d b oxes o f S o il 2 % by 3 fe e t i n are a w i t h

, ,

copp er an d z inc p l ates connecte d ab o ve g roun d C ontro l b oxes .

W i t h ou t p l ates were i nc l u d e d After s evera l tri als wi t h d ifferen t

,

.
20 B ULL E TI N 1 3 79 , U . 8 . D EP A RTM EN T OF AG R I CULT UR E

kinds of seeds it was found that in every case the seeds grew muc h
,

quicker in t h e boxes containin g the plate Hemp seed was fully a n .

inch ab ove t h e surface before controls s h owed any plants Th e .

O bservation w a s m a de also t h a t plants in t h e zones neares t t h e pla t es

were the firs t to come up W a tering with dilute acetic acid was
.

found to caus e quicker growth for treated plants — possibly b ecaus e

of incre a sed cur rent resulting from th e a cid metal reaction U pon -
.

repe a ting thes e experiments L eices ter decided th at t h e only action

,

of the current was to s timul ate t h e pl a nt until th e initial s tore of

foo d was used up N o data were recorded in eith er of h is reports
.
.

B erthelo t (3 ) conducted some tests w i th soil currents to determin e

wh ether electricity aided in the fix ation of nitrogen by pl a nts Suit .

able contro l plats were provided He rep orted that t h e treated .

plants grew much more rapidly b eing nearly twice t h e weigh t o f ,

the control plants a t the end of four to six w e e ks Although no t .

complete or definite the experiments were ab andoned for variou s

,

reasons .

K inne y ( 2 7 ) m a de a n extensive series of experiments to determine

the influence of electric a l currents on germin a tion Seeds were sub .

j e c t e d to di fferent current s trengths for different p eriods of time and

then u t i n suita ble germination app ar a tus a n d th e s u b s e u e n t
r ow t f f no ted A n intermittent tre atment of 3 0 seconds p er our
g .

was given in some cases arranged by cloc k contacts Two differen t

, . .

arr a ngements w ere used for t h e trea t ments In one a lass cylinde r .

cont a ining t h e seeds was equipped at eac h end wit electrodes .

These were pressed a gains t th e s eeds through which the current w as

thus directly p a ssed In the o ther the seeds were placed in we t
.
,

s and held bet w een p erfor a ted met a l dis ks which were used for t h e ,

electro des T h e entire l a yer was h eld in a gl a ss funnel in which the

.

growt h of the radicle could b e measured without removal Eigh t .

sets of 2 5 seeds each were used in e ac h tes t one s et b eing the control ,

a n d the o t h er seven receiving different s trengths of current Ex p e ri .

ments with b arley showed that the growth of treated seeds increased
as th e current strength increased up to a cert a in O p timum value ,

a bove wh ic h the growth decre a sed w ith increas e in current s trength .

W it h whi te must a rd rape and red clover the O p timum tre a tm en t

, ,

for b oth roots and s tems was identic a l .

Plowm an ( 40 4 1 ) h a s recorde d the results of experiments con

,

ducte d a t the Harvard B o tani cal Gardens on the influence of soil

conducted cur rents o n pl a nt l i fe Platinum or c arbon electro des .

were use d with po tenti a ls ranging from 5 to 5 0 0 volts The regu

,
.

i ff —
l a tion of temperature w a s a serious d iculty a fact mentione d for
the firs t time in connec tion with such ex e ri m e n t s and one that may
h a ve been ignore d in e arlier reports lowm a n found that seeds .

near t h e ano de were alw a ys kille d by a current of ampere o r

more if continue d for 2 0 hour s See ds at the c atho de were little.

affecte d by currents less than ampere .

Gerlach a n d Erlwein ( 1 9 at B romberg inves tigate d the

, ,

effect of we ak s oil currents on germination and growth The fiel d .

w a s made up of seven plats of 2 0 0 s uare meters e ach C urren t .

was taken from a c ar line and le d to t e t h ree tre ate d pl ats whi ch ,

were provided wi th iron plates 2 0 meters long by 3 0 centime ters

wide and 2 mill imeters thick sunk i nto the soil at bo th ends Each .

of the seven plats w a s seeded half with b arley and h a lf wi th po tatoes .

 ELEC TROC LL TL RE
' ’

Th e t re atment c o nt i nue d 24 ho urs a d a y for 86 da y s fo r b arle y an d

1 3 9 da y s fo r o t a t o es , b e gi n n i ng i n A pril B o th b arle y an d p o t ato es
lb
.

showe d ex cel n t grow t h , b ut n o di fferenc es b etween t h e tre a t e d an d

c o ntrol p l ats were di scern i b l e at an y t i me O ther exp eri ments .

were c o n ducte d with pl ants gro w n in b oxes pro v i de d wi th Gopp er

an d z i nc pl at es c o n n ec te d overhe a d b y w i res T ri als w i t h r y e , .

whe at , a n d lu p in e gave n o differenc e b etween tre ate d an d untre ated

c ro s
B
fm b
.

o er e rg rep orte d that t h e p ass age o f hi g h fre quenc y

(2 4) -

c urrents t o ugh the soil was b en efi c1 a l t o pl ant growth Hi s .

exp eri ments were c o n duc t e d o n a small sc a l e us in g fl o w erp o t s w i t h ,

onl y a few l an t s the tre atment c o ns i s ting o f t hr e e appli c a t ions

,

d ai ly unt i l t e temp erat u r e o f the so i l re ache d 3 5 C when the °

.
,

current was cut o ff Th e l e aves an d ste m s o f the tre ate d p l an ts

.

showe d more chl orop h y ll t h an the c ontro ls A pho t o graph shows .

o n e p o t e ach o f t re ate d an d c ontro l p l ants t h e t re ate d p l an t s b ein g

,

ab out fiv e t im es as h i g h as the o thers In or der t o de t erm i ne

-

whether the he at i n g was the m ai n c aus e o f i n cre as e d growt h ano ther

o t w as sub j ecte d t o t es t curr ents fo r fi v e minutes da i ly T hes e
p .

p l an t s were ab out fo ur t i mes th e he i g ht o f t h e c ontro ls when pho t o

graphe d Fro m th es e c omp ari s ons Ho m b erg er c onc l u de d th at t h e
.

o sc i ll at i ng fi e ld an d n o t the temp erat u r e was the m a i n c aus e o f the

s t i mu l at i o n an d he b eli eve d hi s resu l t s t o b e d ue t o che m i c a l ch an g es
,

t a ki n g p l ac e un d er t h e i n fl uence o f the osc i ll atin g e l ectrom ag ne t ic

fi e ld ana l o g o us t o the c at a l y t ic actio n o f lig ht
,
.

In 1 9 0 7 ( 1 7 ) an d 1 9 0 9 ( 1 8 ) Gass ner re o r t e d up on exp er i ments

w i th ch ar g e d s o i l whi ch i n di c ate d a g enera un f avorab l e ac t ion up o n
p l ant growth .

K Ov es s i (28) o b t ai ne d u nf av ora bl e res u l ts i n res e arch es i nv o l vi n g

s om e ex p erim ents .

C o ns i d era b l e publi cit y h as b ee n g iven t o an app ara t us c all e d a

o f li gh t n i n g r o d d o g ath er i n
”
g e o m a g n e t ifi er a s ort,
esign e d t
atm osph eri c e l ectri c al ener gy an d s uppl y i t t o the cr e p s A m o n g .

th o s e w h o h av e rep ort e d f av ora b l e res u l ts t hr o ugh t h e u s e o f s uch

ap p ar a t us are M acc a g n o B as t y an d P aulin
'

A t th e pres ent tim e m eth o ds o f electroc u l tur e emp l o yi ng s o i l

con d ucte d curr en t s h av e few prop onents .

EXP ERINIENTS W IT H IVIO D IF IIID '

PO TENT IAL G R A D IENT S
Gra n d e au i n 1 8 7 8 , rep orte d s t u di es o n t h e effec t o f t h e
e l ectri c al c on di ti on o f t h e atm osph ere up o n t h e gr ow t h o f v e g et a t i on
H e grew p l ants i n a F ar a d a y c age cons i s t i ng o f f o ur i ron ro ds 1 .

c entim eter i n di am eter by m eters hi gh , h o ldi ng fin e i r on wires

formi n g 1 5 by 1 0 c ent i m et er m esh es Th e c a g e was gro un d e d i n
.

order t o d es t ro y t h e n orm a l e l ectri c al fi e ld Exp erim ents were .

m a d e w i th t o b acco , c orn an d whe at Th e p l ants u n d er the c age

, .

were rep orte d we a k an d s l en d er Six st alks o f whe a t gr own in

.

fre e ai r wei g he d gr am s , as c om p are d wi t h g ram s fo r s ix

s ta l k s grown un d er th e c a g e .

G ran d e a u was l e d b y t hes e ex p erim ents t o t h e b eli ef t h at hi g h

t rees ac t as a o u n d e d network i n t h at the y s hi e ld th e ve g et a t i o n

b ene ath th eir fdli ag e from t h e ac t i on o f th e norm a l e l ectric al fiel d

,

t hereby c aus i n g a d ecre as e d ra t e o f g rowt h W i t h a s ensi t ive .

Th omps on el ec t rom eter b e c omp are d t h e s tren gt h o f t h e fi el d i n t h e

,
22 B U LL ET I N 1 3 79, U . 8 . D EP A R T M ENT OF AG RIC U L T U RE

open with th a t u nder veget a tion Th e results indicated th at un d er .

trees and shrubs the potenti a l gradient was re a t ly reduced The

experim ents of Gr a n d e a u were confi rm ed by E
.

d a s c a rt
A s O pposed to the conclusion of Gr a n d e a u t h e m odern greenhouse ,

of s teel construction constitutes in its elf an approxim ation to a

Faraday cage ab out the pl ants growing within it and yet the develop ,

m ent of the pl a nts is sur ely not seri ously i mp a ired in consequence .

Likewise B riggs and Sh antz ( 1 0

,
in their investigati on of the ,

water req u i rements of pl ants carried hundreds of pots of pl a nts to ,

full m a turi ty un der a groun ded metal framework covered ab ove and ,

on th e si des with met a l screen of A inch m esh wh ich must h ave

I -
,

a n n ull ed t h e norm a l electrostati c field ; ye t the pl ants grown wi thin

the inclosure were alm ost without ex ception superi or in developm ent
and lux uri a nce of fo i la g e to those grown in simil a r pots outside .

Lem s t r Om ( 3 2 ) conducted in Finlan d a l ong series of experim ents

t o determine if possible the influence of st a tic electricity on pl ant
, ,

g rowth Th
. e presence of strong electric ch a rges in the atm osphere

of northern regions as indi cate d by t h e northern lights linked w i th

, ,

the astoni shing development of vegetation in such regions l ed him ,

to re a r d atmospheric electrici ty as a n i m o r t an t f actor i n pl a nt

g r o w t G a rden veget a bles fruits and sm a l grains were subj ected , ,

to severa l di fferent tre a tments in these investigations b oth i n green

hous es an d i n open fields Lem s t r Om summ arized th e resul ts of his .

experim ents as foll ows :

( 1 ) Th e re a l i n cre a s d u e t o e le c t r c a l t r e a t m
e i en h a s n o t y e t b e e n e x a ct ly
t
i
d e t e rm n e d fo r t h e i
d ff e r e n t p s
la n t , b u t w e a re a pp i
ro a c h n g i t s s
m a lle t v a lu e b y s
fi i
x n g i t at 4 5 p er cen t
s i ifi fi is i
.
9

( 2 ) T h e b e t t e r a n d m o r e c e n t c a lly a e ld c u lt v a t e d a n d m a n u r e d , t h e

g r e a t e r is
t h e n c r e a ie e r ce n t s p
a g e O n oor o l it so p
m a ll a s t o b e ca r ce ly s i is s s
p pi
.

e r ce t b le
s i if
.

( 3 ) So m e v e g e t a b le ca n n o t e n d u r e t h e e le c t r c t re a t m e n t t h e y a re n o t
w a t e re d , b u t t h e n t h e y w ll g v e v e r v h g h i i
e r ce n t a g e n cre a e i p
Am on g t h e e i ss s
p s s
.

a re e a , c a rr o t , a n d ca b b a g e
i p i s s i is i
.

( 4 ) Ele ct r c t r e a t m e n t w h e n a c c o m a n e d b y h o t u n h n e d am a g n g t o
s
m o t v e g e t a b le , s p
r o b a b ly t o a ll ; w h e r e o r e a v o r a b le r e u lt f if f
a r e t o b e a rr v e d s s i
a t t h e t r e a t m e n t m u t b e n t e rru s i p
t e d i n t h e m d d le o f h o t a n d s u n n v d a y i s .

"
Experim ents simil ar to those conducted in Fi n l and were conducted
in Engl and , Germ a ny , and Sweden wit h l ike resul ts A detaile d .

descrip ti on of all of these experiments m ay b e found in Electricit y

i n A gricul ture and Hortic u l t u r e , by Le m s t r Om
”

Priestley (42 43 ) rep orted on the experim ents of N ewm an (3 7 )

,

at Golden V a ll ey N urseries at B itton A sm all W i mshurst m achine .

was used one terminal of which was grounded and th e other connected
,

to Wires suspended over outside pl a ts and also to wires in seven gl ass

houses Th e wires were hun g 1 6 inches ab ove th e tops of t h e pl ants
.

and were provi ded with di scharge p oints h u ng at short interval s .

The m achi ne was O perated h o u r s a d ay for 1 0 8 d ays b etween

M arch 2 7 a n d Jul y 2 6 the firs t half of the p eriod in daytime and th e
,

l atter half at n i gh t C ontrol pl ats were provi ded in all cases simil ar
.

to the treated pl ats excep t wi thout Wi res The res u l ts recorded .

are g iven in Tabl e 2 2 .

 B U LLETI N 1 3 79, U . 8 . D EPA RT MENT O F
’

AG RI C U L TU RE

T AB LE 2 4 — Re s lt s
u f
o e lect r o c u lt u ra l t r ea t m en t o f p ota to i is
v a r et e at D u m fr is e
D
.
,
Sco t la n d by , u d g eo n i n 1 9 1 1 an d 19 12

V ar e t yi V i
a r et y

In 1 9 1 2 further experiments at Dumfries were c arrie d on in an o ther

field exposed to wind from an qu a rter Two corners of the 4
acres were tre ated the o thers f t as controls N o difference in
.
,

.
,

iel d w a s recorded and i t is expl a ine d th a t prob ably all pl ats are to
ye regarded as tre ate d plats
,

In 1 9 1 5 Du dgeon conducte d an experiment with o ats The crop .

was grown o n ground th at had b een use d for simil ar experiments

on po ta t oes for thr ee years TW O adj a cent pl ats of NA acres e ach .

were se ) a r a t e d by a well —grounded wire screen 3 feet higher than the

charge d network A sensitive electrometer showed that the screen
.

reduce d the le akage over the control pl at but di d no t al together

prevent it The se a son was dr and the cro was no t he avy From
early s t a ges the tre a ted pl a t showe d a m ar e d superiority in com
. .

p arison with the control a n d di d no t su ffer from the prevail i n g ,

drought to the s ame extent The electrical discharge was applie d .

a bout five hours e a ch d a y for 1 0 8 d a ys The weights ( pounds ) .

recorde d a t h a rvest were as follows : Tre ated — grain straw ,

control gr a in
—
straw
These figures indic a te an incre a se of ab out 3 0 per cent in gr a in
and ab ou t 5 8 per cent in straw A n a lyses of the gr a in from the two .

pl a ts S howed prac tic a lly no difference in qu a lity .

B l ackm a n and n i rg en s en (6 ) h a ve also reported experiments b y

Dudgeon a t Dumfries Scotl a nd with o a ts In a 9 a cre fiel d 1 acre — .
, ,

was sel ected for tre atment an d two half acre l ats for controls -
.

The di s tanc e b etween the silicon bronze wires of t e network was -

yards C ur rent of 3 amperes a t 5 0 volts was supp lied to the primary

.

circuit giving a gre a ter intensity of discharge th a n that ob tained

,

in the experiments of the previous ye ars The discharge was s tarted .

j ust as soon as the crop a ppe a re d above ground and within a month ,

a m arke d di fference was no ted The tre ated pl ants had deeper color .

and were higher than the control pl ants Throughout t h e season the .

treate d crop was 5 to 1 0 inches higher than the control Pl ants .

aroun d the network also showe d the effect of the discharge The .

to tal application from A pril 1 4 to A ugust 1 7 d aytime only w a s 84 8 , ,

hour s He avy r a ins did a goo d deal of d am age The comp arative
. .

yields were as shown in Table 2 5 .

T AB L E 2 5 — Re s lt s f le t ch em i ca l t e t m e t f o a t s a t D m f i e s S t la d by
u o e c ro r a n o u r co n

D
.
, ,

u d g eo n ,
a s r e p o r t ed by B la ck m a n an d J it r g en s en

Yi e s
l d ( p ou n ds )
G rai n S t raw

C ont ro l 1 ( al
d
T reat e ( acre)
h f acre )
C o n t ro l 2 ( a l h f acre )
 E LE C T RO CUL T U R E

Th es e resu l ts i nd i cat e a 4 9 p er cent i ncreas e i n gra in an d an 88 p er

c ent in creas e i n s traw fo r the electrica l tre atm ent .

The L iverp oo l C i ty and El ectric al Engineers rep orte d o n e p i x er

m ents con du ct e d near L iverp o ol Engl and in 1 9 1 7 Tw o plats in , ,

.

new ly p l owe d p as tur e l an d s ep arat e d by ab ou t 3 7 5 feet were us ed ,

an anal y si s i n di c atin g that t h e surfac e an d subs oi l were o f the s am e

c h aracter V ari ous p l ant crops were grown an d i n genera l th e e l ec
.
,

t ri fi e d are a ave su b s t anti a l i ncrea es i n yiel d over the c ontro l are a

A cop y o f t E
s .

i s rep ort is o n fil e i n the Offi c e o f B iophys i ca l I nves ti

t i o n s B ur eau o f P l ant Indus tr y
g a ,
.

H o n c a m p (2 5 ) h as summ ariz e d th e resu l ts of s evera l prev ous m i

v es t i g a t i o n s an d p o i nt e d o u t s erious o b j ections t o th e m etho ds us e d .

T AB LE 26 —Re s lt s
u f
o e lect r o ch e m i ca l t r ea t m en t s f
o o a t cr o ps a t i l/l o ch e ln Ge r m an y,
i i
.
,

a cco r d n g t o Ger la ch an d Er lw e n

Re at l i ve l ds
yi e C om p os i t i on ( p er cen t)

El ect ri cal an d si o l t re at m en t
G ra ni S t raw
G rai n S t raw
Ni t o g en r Ni t o gen
r

N o el ect ri ci t y
F ert ili z e i rri gat i o n
:
r,

F ert il i z e n o i rrig ati on

r,

N o fert iliz er n o irrig at i o n ,

Di ect cu rren t :
r
PNosegiat ti i ee fefertritliiliz ezer i rrirri gigaat it oi onn
v , ,

PNoesgiat it i vee fefertritli ilizzeerr nnooirirrri gi gaatit oi onn

v
v

,
,
r,

,
_

PNoesgiat it i vee nnoofefertrtili ilizzeer nnooi rrirrigi gaat it oi onn

v ,
, ,

r,

Al t ern at i n g cu rren t
, ,

F ert i li z er i rri g at i on
:

Fert i li z er n o i rrig at i on
,

N o fert i li z er n o i rrig at i o n ,

SU MM R Y O F A R ELATIV E Y IE LD S o r G RA IN A ND STR A W

H igh t en s i on
-
cu rre n t

S oil t reat m en t D i re ct

P sio ti ve N e g at i ve

G rai n
N o fe t ili z er n o i ri g at i o
:

F ert il i z er n o i rrig t i o
r , r n
a n
F ert ili zer i rri g t i o n
,

a
S t raw :
,

N o fert ili z e r n o i ig at i o n
F ert i l i z er n o i rri g at i on
, rr

F ert i li z er i rr ig at i on
,

On the C ont i n ent dur in g t hi s p er i o d m an y ele c t ro c u lt u ra l exper i m en t s

were c arr i e d o u t usin g ne tworks c h arged t o hi g h p o t enti a l s Rep orts b y
, .

H d s t erm a n n Gerl ach and Erlwein C laus en B res l a u er

and ot h ers i nd i c at e that n o b ene fi t m a y b e ex p ecte d from the us e
o f the netw o r k Th e Germ an exp eri m ents m a d e us e o f a n ex t ensive
.
26 B U L LE TI N 1 3 79 , U . s . D E PA R TM E N T OF A G R IC U L T UR E

and variable complex of conditions desig n ed to include the study of ,

positive and negative potential in relation to fertilizers and irrigation

and the relation of thes e factors to the composition of grain a n d str a w .

The results shown by Gerlach and Erlwein reporting experiments

with c a t crops at M ocheln are selected as representative ( Table .

I t m ay b e well worth while to consider T a ble 2 6 in some detail ,

since it s eems to represent a thoro n bl y imp arti a l s tudy of the

methods whi ch have given success e ls e w ere .

The instances in which duplicate trials were run and the agree
ments to b e no ted for thes e cas es show rather conclusively that lack
of un i formity in soil conditions w a s no t a disturbing factor in thes e
-

experim ents The s ix plats givi n g n o t a bly higher yi elds are those
.

wit h fertiliz er a n d irrigation Thes e are in goo d a r e em e n t and show

-
.

no appreciable advantage for the thr ee types of e e c t ri c al tre a tment

represented the aver a ges for rel a tive yields o n l y b eing as shown in
,

the summ a ry of Table 2 6 .

The plats in thes e experiments were a bout one fourth acre each -
,

the control plats being sep arated from the electri fied plats by about
3 2 5 feet . The o t e n t i al of the direct current network was about -

volts w e r e a s that of the alternating current was about

,

volt s The s tatement of Lem s t r om that the b etter the con

.

dition of the field the more favor a ble the influence of the high tension -

di scharge is no t substanti a ted by thes e tri a ls I n brief the German .

,

ex e rim e n t s give little evidence of any definite crop increas e a t

tri ntable to the electrical treatment .

In 1 9 1 3 Dorsey conducted greenhouse experi ments in Ohio with

radishes and lettuce using a high frequency current In a letter to
,
-
.

Doctor B riggs dated A ugust 1 8 1 9 1 3 he reported the rel a tive weights , ,

of 1 0 pl a nts s elected a t random from e a ch area Thes e are shown i n .

Ta b le 2 7 .

T A B LE 2 7 — Re s lt s u o f e lect r o cu lt u r a l t rea t m en t s f
o g r een h o u s e ra d is h s
e an d lett u ce
i D s
.

i n 1913, a cco r d n g to o r ey

Re l a t i ve we igh t s ( gram s)

10 pl a n ts Ra dis h es L e t t u ce

T rea t e d C on t ro l T re a t e d C on t ro l

- o ¢ - o

Dorsey a lso conducted field tri a ls with a high frequency current -

.

The pl a nts used were b eets lettuce c a bb a ge b eans melons cucum , , , , ,

b ers and tob a cco Th ey were planted in long rows one half of each
,
.
,
-

r o w b e i ng under the charged network The treated pla t covered .

ab out ha lf an acre The network was 9 feet ab ove ground with wires
.

1 5 feet ap art and carried a voltage of about a t an estim a ted

frequency of ab ou t cycles The l ower w a s t a ken from a
y
.

7 kilow a tt 2 2 0 volt tr a nsformer s u ppl i n g

-
volts a t 6 0
a c y cle s a n d exciting an oscill a ting circu i t cont a ining the network as
capacit y T rea t ment w a s g iven d a il y three hour s in the forenoon
.
,
 EL E C T R O C U L T U RE 27

an d t hree h our s in the afterno o n A gener ally favora bl e in fluen ce fo r .

the d ischarg e trea tmen t was rep orted U n fort u n a te ly to ta l weights .

were no t i nc l ud e d T he resu l ts fo r the s econd y ear were g enera lly

.

un f avorab l e fo r t h e d i scharge trea tm ent and D ors e y concl u d e d t h a t ,

e rh a p s slig h t d i fferences in the s l op e o f the t w o p l a ts m a y h ave

been re s pon si bl e fo r the favorab l e resul ts o f t h e fi rs t y ear 5

.

A t t h e p resent t i m e p erhaps the b es t evi d ence o f p l an t resp onse t o

electrica l disc h arg e is tha t ob taine d by B la ckm an (4 5 6 7 8) , , ,

o f t h e e l ectro cu l tur e comm i ttee o f t h e B ritis h M inis tr y o f A g ri cu l

tur e an d Fis h eri es His exp eri ments ex tend over a p eri o d o f y ears
.

an d compri se fi el d trials p o t cul tures and l a b ora tory tes ts a ll o f

, , ,

whi c h he i nterprets as a ffordin g c onvergin g evid ence for a favo ra bl e

g rowt h res p ons e t o the applica tion o f elec trici t y On acco un t o f t h e .

p ra ct i ca l p o ssi b ili ties asso cia te d with a trea tment assurin g i n crease d
i t s eems d esirable t o ex amine i n som e d etai l th e d a ta which
g
l rowt
ave ghi ven ri s e t o this assurance .

Th e fi eld tria l s carri ed o n i n Engl an d by Bl ac km an an d h i s as

so c i a tes have g i ven the resu l ts w h ich are summ ari z e d i n T a bl e 2 8 .

TA B LE 28 —
Re s u lt s o f e lect ro cu lt u ra l t r e a t m e n t of g ra n cro p s s i in En g la n d , as
i s
.

re p o r t ed in fi e ld e x p er m en t by B la ckm a n

Yl
D u rat i on éi gfiglg
fi
cre
A crea ge
C ro p an d y ear
of t re a t
m en t

T rea t e d C on t ro l ( h ou r ) s T reat ed C on t ro l

L i n clu d en
d o_
do
do
do
do
do
do

do
do
H ar pe r A d am s A g ri cIi l
t u ral C o ll e g e .

do
do
do
Li n clu d en
d o_
do
H ar p e A d am s A g ri cu l
t a al C oll e g e
r

d
.

2 l zgi
rre
0
s i
p o n d en ce w t h t h e O ffi ce of B i o ph y si ca l In v e s igt at on i s ,
B u re a u of Plan t In d u s t ry, Se p t e m b er
28 B U LL E T IN 1 3 79 , U . 8 . D E PA R TM E N T or A G R IC U L T UR E

These t a bulated values are in many ways no t subj ect to biome tric al
analysis they represen t the resul ts of experiments carrie d ou t wi th
v a ried complexes of so i l se ason acre a ge cro and elec trical tre at
ment N evertheless i n the absence of any de
, , ,

. fin i te knowledge con
,

cerning the conditions under which an electrical tre atmen t may b e

presume d to b e most effective there is perhaps no be tter index than
a comp ari son
.

Of 3 3 tri a ls shown in T a ble 2 8 2 1 indicate an incre ase for tre a te d ,

are as where as 1 2 indic ate a decre a se The tre ated are as re turn a
, .

yield represente d by the range 7 6 to 1 84 when the untre a te d are as

re turn a yield re presente d by 1 0 0 and give a n average incre a se of
1 4 per cent Thi s i ncre ase is b ased upon yiel d s reported for e x p e r i
.

ments regardless of cro or seasonal norm ality and B lackman es ti ,

m ates the more r e li a b e experiments as i nd i cative of an average

incre ase in yield of abou t 22 per cent In ei ther c ase such an i n .
,

cre ase woul d seem su fficien t to b e of promise from an a ri cu lt u r a l

s tandp oin t If an a ttemp t is m ade to de term i ne from t ese tab u
.

late d values the conditions under whi ch the i ncre a ses were ob tained ,

serious difficul ties a re i mmedi a tely encountered .

U nfortunately the normal productivity of the electrified and

contro l are a s is in most cases unknown and a serious lack of soil ,

uniformity is evident from the yields of differen t portions of control

a reas .For ex a mple in the 1 9 1 9 and 1 9 2 0 pl a ts with o a ts a t L in
,

cluden wh i ch occupied the same a re a s for the two ye a rs the control

, ,

yields were as shown in T a ble 2 9 in which the rel a tive yields of the ,

corresp onding treated a reas for the same y ears the controls b eing ,

taken as 1 0 0 a r e a lso shown for comparison :

,

T A B LE 2 9 — Co m
. p is
ar on f
o th e re u s lt s o f e le ct r o cu lt u r a l ex er m p i en t s w i th o a t cr o p s
at Li n clu d en ,
En g la n d , i n 1 9 1 9 a n d 1 9 20

A cre i d s o f co t
y el l
p s b sh els) sbi k
n ro

l at ( u t ro l e n g ta en as

I t is obvious that the yields of the third section of the control

a rea were uniform ] l ow comp a red with the yields of the o ther
control sections an th a t this fact is almost cert a inly involved in
the hi h percentage increases arising for the third section of the
t r e a t e g area I t would therefore app ear th a t thes e p articul a r
.

increases may b e a ttributed to a lack of soil uniformity and the ,

i m o r t a n c e of this unknown factor is indicated .

he most consistent series in dic a ting favor a ble response to electric a l

tre a tment app ears to b e the 1 9 1 8 oa t tri a ls at Li n clu d e n The lats .

in o a ts at Lin clu d e n gave the average annual yields shown in able

30 .

The yields from the electrified areas in 1 9 1 8 seem to have b een

so excep tion a l comp ared with the electrified areas for the thr ee
o ther ears that one may u e s t i o n whether it is j ustifiable to a t t ri
bute t e increase solel y to t e electrical treatment .
 ELE C T RO C U L TU RE 29

T A BL E 3 0 —A n a l
y s o f si
t h e a v er a g e r e u lt of e le c t r ca l t r ea ts s
m e n t i s o f oat pl ts a at

s i i
.

Li n clu d en , E n g la n d , i n t h e yea r 1 9 1 7 t o 1 9 2 0 , n clu s ve

A v era g e acre yi eld

s s s
( b u h el

The i ns t anc es sp ecific all y c onsi dere d in T abl es 2 9 an d 3 0 compri s e

the m os t no t able o f t he p ercent age i n cre as es rep ort e d b y B l ackm an ,

as shown i n T ab l e 2 8 an d the y are therefore i n a l arge m e asur e the

,

b asis o f the 22 p er c ent average i ncre as e rep ort e d On e is thus l eft .

wit h ou t d e fin i t e assur ance that the field exp eri m ents dem ons trat e
a favorab l e resp ons e t o the el ectric al tre atm ent .

T he p o t c u l t ur e exp erim ents i n Engl an d by B l ackm an an d h i s

-

ass oci at es g ave res u l ts which are summ ari z e d i n T ab l e 3 1 .

TA B LE 3 1 — Re s lt s
u o f e lect ri ca p i
l p o t - c u lt u r e e x er m en t s w i th gra i n cr o ps i n En g
i
.

la n d , a cco r d n g t o B la ck m a n

'

Y l e1d s ( gra m s )
R ati o of
Y i l ds ( g
e r am s
R a ti o of
Y ear an d cr o p d
t r ea t e t o Y ear an d cro p t rea t e d to

T r ea t e d
c on t ro l T rea t e d C on t ro l co n t ro l

1 4 52

M ai z e B arl ey

Wh ea t
B ar l ey

B arl e y

lVI ai z e

1 7 28
A v era g e
.

A s wi th the t ab u l at e d va l u es fo r fi el d exp eri ments s o here a l s o t h e ,

resul ts o f t h e o t cul ture tri a l s re res ent m ore than t h e electric d is

-

g
char e v ari ab e ; soi l an d s e a s o n a fact ors v ar y as well as th e cr 0 p
an d the d ur ation n ature an d strength o f the e l ectric a l tre atment
, , .

M akin g a c omp aris o n 2 6 tri a l s o u t o f 4 7 i ve p ositive resu l ts w h i l e

,
G

T he tre at e d plants return yi el d s r e pre

,

2 1 g ive ne g ative resul ts .

sented b y the ran g e 7 3 t o 1 2 7 : when the untre ate d p l ants re t urn a

yi el d repres ent e d b y 1 0 0 an d give a n avera g e incre as e o f l p er cent .

This incre as e is we ll wi thin the exp e rim ent a l error an d t h e po t ,

c u l ture tri a l s in their entiret y thus furn ish n o d e fi ni t e evi d ence o f a

respons e t o the e l ectric a l tre atment .
30 B U LL E TIN 1 3 79 , U . s . D E PA R TM E N T OF A G RIC U L T U R E

I n c o ntrast to the field experimen t s however the pot culture trials , ,

-

afford resul ts from several simil a rly treated po ts a n d pl ants so th a t ,

an estimate of indivi du al experiments m ay be made by comp aring

the diff erences between tre ated and untre a ted pl a nts wi th the prob
able errors involved in the measurements .

W hen the p o t C ultur e records are examined in this way it b ecomes

-
,

evident th a t the treated and untreated plants present substantial

d ifferences W ith unif orm soil and se a sonal factors for electrified
.

and control pl a nts the associ a tion of these differences with the
treatment b ecomes intimate The f a ct that these differences favor .

the control pl a nts ab out as often as the treated plants emphasiz es

the complexities involved and makes one less certain that thes e
d i fferences are d efin itely attribut able to the electric discharge .

The la b o r a t o r experiments of B lackman and his associates have

b een on the effe ct of a direct current of very low i ntensity on
the rate of growth of the coleoptile of b arley Differences i n the .

growth rate of tre a te d and control plants were no ted over short
periods The sm a ll differences a ttributable to the direction of the
.

current a n d the pronounced a fter effects ob tained make the inter

r e t a t i o n of the data difficult and un cert a in
p .

In general then one fin ds in B lackman s ex eri m en t s m an y

, ,
’

signific a nt d ifferences between the electrified an control pl a nts .

In some inst a nces the rel a tion of the disch a rge to thes e differences
m a y well b e ques tioned In o thers the rel a tion app ears to b e an
.

i ntim a te one a n d the significance of such differences is the i mmediate

,

concern of further rese a rch in electroculture .

TA B LE 3 2 . Su m m a ry o f ele ct r o cu lt u ra l tr i ls
a

No d efi i t i
n e n fl u en ce re po rt e d
M et h o d
O bs e rv er O b se rv e r

S il
o -
co n d u ct d cu rre
e n t s :

G erm i n a t o n i

P ot cu l t u re s SH
t on e
om erb g er
F i t c h n er 1 88 3—87 W o lln
Field t i als GG ssl y .

H o ld e fl e i s s 1 90 7
r
Ro ss 1 90 9 "
a
er a c
n er
ha
.

d E rl w e in
S
n
l u b l e p l t fo o d
.

Y e g o ro n
M o di fi e d at m o s ph e i c
o an
r po
t en t i al gr adi e t : n
1 90 4 Le m s t r o m
1 90 5—1911 L dgs N
o e, ew m an 1 90 7 G ssa n er .

d Erl w e in
g
19 13 D 1 90 9 erl i ch an

¢ s P i s
f
or ey
1 90 9— i
.

I n crea sd
e p o t en t i aL
19 14 J rg en
D
en
d g eo n
, r e t 1 e y,
19 10
1 9 10 res au er
H os t erm
.

Bl k
u

i p
.

l
19 1 1 CB l iggss C
au e n .
an n

am
.

pb ell H ea ld
ac m an L v er oo en 1 9 1 8- 1 9 24 r
Fi
, , , ,

g i n eers . lnt .

M as cart L ai k ew i cz
D ec eas e d po t e t i al B iggs Sh an t z
.

r n G ran d eau r an d .

H os t erm an n

A review of the li terature of experimentation u e le c t r o c u lt u r a l

to the present time does no t lend assur a nce of grea t progress ( T ab e .

In 1 80 0 Sen e b i er (45) wr ote substant i ally as follows :

 LIT ERA T U RE C IT ED
( 1 ) B A INE s A E
i i i sp t s i ll
. .
,

1 92 1 . Ge rm i n it s n at o n e le c t r ca l a ec . 1 85 p p .
,
us . Lo n d o n
a n d Ne w Y o r k .

BA SY
T F
ss is és s it )
.
,

1 90 8 E a d e le c t r o c u lt u r e t e n t a A n g er e n 1 90 8 ( Ex t r a In
s s pp
. . .

B u l So c Et u d e Sc i A n g e r , a r m 3 7
. . . .
—
87 9 2 .

B E RT — I
I E LO T , M
s s fi i
.

1 88 9 R e c h e r c h e n ou ve lle su r la xat o n
’
d e 1 A z o t e p a r la t e rre
fl p
.

vég t a le é In u e n ce de
’
1 é1e ct ri c i t é I n C o m t Re n d A c a d
is ] pp
. . . . .

Sc i [Pa r .
,
t om e 10 9, . 2 8 1 —2 8 7 .

L
B AC K MAN , V H
i fi i Mi A g
. .

1 9 1 8— 1 9 2 4 [Ele ct r ca l t re a t m en t of e ld s ] Gt Br t n r an d
is h i s I t i m Rp t 1 —6 [Mi m g p h
. . . . .

F er e n er s
- .
(1917 eo ra ed ]
1 9 24 F i e ld ex p i m t s i — l t — lt
er en n e e c ro cu u re In J ou r Agr Sc i v ol 14
pp 2 4 0 2 6 7
. . . . . .
,

. .

d J ER C E N SE N , I
an
i is pp d i J
.

1 9 1 7 T h e o v e r h e a d e le c t r c d c h a rg e an d c ro ro u ct o n In ou r
pp i ll s
. . .

B d A g r [L o n d o n ] , v o l 2 4 , . . . . 4 5—4 9 , u .

d LE G G , A T
an
p i s w it h i is J
. .

1 9 2 4 Po t c u lt u r e e x e r m -
en t an e le c t r c d ch a rg e . In ou r
pp i s
. .

A g r Sc i , v o l 1 4 , 26 8 —2
. . . . 8 6 , llu .

d G RE G O R , F C
an Y
ff i i i si
. .

1 9 23 T h e e e c t o f a d re c t e le c t r c c u r re n t o f v e ry lo w n t e n t y o n t h e
pi
.

r a t e o f g r o w t h o f t h e co le o t le o f b a rle y I n Pr o c Ro y So c ,
pp i s
. . . .

Lo n d o n , s e r B , v o l 9 5 , 2 1 4—22 8 , llu . . . .

B RE SL A U ER, M
ii
.

1912 Am t of ou n e n e rg y n eed ed fo r e le c t r o - c u lt u r e I n Ele ct r c an

pp
. .
,
v ol 69, . . 8 8 9 —8 9 0 .

B RI G G s , L J , a n d SH A N T z , H L
i p s D pt
. . . .

1913 T h e w a t e r re q u r e m e n t o f la n t 1 U S e Agr Bu r
s i s
. . . . . . .
,
P la n t I n d u B u l 2 8 4 , 4 9 p p , llu . . . .

19 14 Re la t i v e w a t e r re q i
u re m e n t s f pl tso an In J ou r A g r Re s e a r ch
pp i ll s
. . . .
,

vo l 3,
. 1 —6 3
.
,
u .

( 1 2) C H RE E C
sp h i it i pp
.
,

1910 At m o er c e le c t r i c y In En c Br t v ol 6, 86 0 —8 7 0 ,
i s
. . . . . .
,

llu .

L S N
( 1 3 ) C AU E .

191 1 D i e Erf o lg e d e r Ele k t r o k u lt u r i n H e d e w i g e n k o o g In La n d w

s s pp
. . .

W c h n b l So b le H o l t , J a h rg 6 1 , . 83 8 6 .
-
. . . .

(14) D U D GEo N, E C
i ps pl s i it y i ll s
. .

G ro w n g cro an d an t by e le c t r c . 36 pp .
,
u .

Lo n d o n .

( 1 5 ) EL F V I N G F
i i is s s
.
,

1 88 2 U e b e r e n e W r k u n g d e s g a lv a n c h e n St ro m e f w a ch e n d e
au
pp
.

W u r z e ln I n B o t Z t g , J a h rg 4 0 . . . . . 2 5 7 —2 6 4 , 2 7 3 —2 7 8 .

( 1 6 ) F IT C H N E R E
is i p s f
.
,

1 86 1 A g ro n om ch e Z e t u n g , 1 86 1 , 5 50 [No t een Re e r e n ce
f i i i fl i it a
. . . .

B A , L n u en
’
lla
’
ro m ru t t n za d e ll e le t tr c su v eg et a
i p Mi
.
,

z on e, .1 4 8, la n o ,

( 1 7) G A SS N ER, G
D s
.

1 90 7 Z u r F r a g e d e r Ele k t ro k u lt u r In Ber eu t Bo t Ge e 11 Bd
i s
. . . .
.
,
. .

—
2 5 , p p 2 6 3 8 , llu . .

1 90 9 Pfl a n p h y s i o lo g i s ch e F r a g e n
z en d er Ele k t ro k u lt u r In Mi t t
D s pp
. . .

eu t La n d w G e e 11 , J a h r g 24 ,
. . . . .
—
5 7 .
 E L E C T R O C U L T U RE 33

L
( 1 9) G E R A C H M d ER E G
an LW I N
s
.
,
.
, ,

1910 V e r u ch e u e b e r Ele k t ro k u lt u r I n Ele k t ro c h e m Z t s ch r Jah rg

pp s
. .
,
. . .

17, 3 1 — —
3 6 , 6 6 6 8 , i ll u . .

1910 V er s u ch e i wi k
ti b e r d i e E n r u n g d e r El e k t r i z i t at a u f d a s P fl a n z e n

h st m Mi t t K s
.

w ac I u n IV i lh e lm s In t La n d w B r o m b e r g
2 pp 4 4 5 3 i ll s
. .
. . .
,

Ed . 4 2 — . u
, ,
.

( 2 1 ) GB AN D E A U L
sp é i ii
.
,
’
1 87 8 D e 1 i n fl u e n c e d e 1 e le c t r i c i t é a t m o h r qu e su r la n u t r t o n d e s
p s i p is
.

la n t e ( Ex t r a t ) I n Co m t
. Re n d . . A ca d Sc i [P a r ] , . .

t o m e 87 , p p 6 0 —6 2 2 65 — 2 —
6 7 , 93 9 94 0 . .
,

( 22 ) H GST E R M A N N
s
.

1910 Ge c h i ch d B e d e u t u n g d e r Ele k t r o k u lt u r u n t e r B e r u c k
te u n
s
.

s i ch t i g u n g d e r n e u e r e n V e r u ch e I n A r c h D e u t La n d w
pp
. . . .
,

J ah r g 3 , 4 53 5— 570 . . .

( 2 3 ) H O LD E F LE rs s
is
.

1 88 5 Ele k t r ch e K u l t u r v e r s u ch e In C en t bl A g r C h em Jahr g 14,

pp
. . . . . .
,

. 3 92 3 9 3 -
.

( 2 4) H O MB E R G E R E
n
.
,

1 914 B e h a n d 1u g v on Pfl a n z en m it H o ch f
re q u en z s t ro m en In
s pp i s
. .

U m ch a u , Jahrg . 1 8, . 7 3 3 —7 3 5 , ll u .

H O N C A MP , F .

1 90 7 D i e A n w e n d u n g d e r Ele kt ri z i t at i n d e r Pfl a n z en kul t u r In
pp 4 9 0 —4 9 9
. .

F u h li n g s La n d w Z t g , J a h r g 5 6 ,
’
. . . . .

J¢RG E N SE N , I , a n d P R E T E , H I S L Y J
is i i i s pl
. . .

1 9 1 4 T h e d t r b u t o n o f t h e o v e rh ea d e le c t r ca l di ch a rg e em o yed
i p im s J
.

i n r e ce n t a g r cu lt u r al e x er en t In our A g r Sc i \ O1 6
pp
. . . . .

—
3 3 7 3 4 8 , i 11u s . .

K INN Y E A S
i i M
. .
,

1 89 7 . Ele ct r o g erm n a t -
on . as s . H a t ch A gr . Exp . St a . Bu l . 43,
3 2 p p , ill u s . .

( 2 8) K OV E s s r F
fl i
.
,

1 9 1 2 In d 1 l t i it é a u e n ce e e ec r c co u ra n t co n t n u sur l e d év e l o p p e m e n t
p l —t s I C m p t i
.

d es an e n o Re n d A c a d Sci [Pa r s ] , t o m e 1 5 4 ,
pp 2 89 2 9 1
. . . . .

. .

( 29 ) L E I S
C E J
TE R ,
ti f l t i s p s s
.

1 89 2 T h e ac on o e ec r c cu rr e n t u o n t h e g ro w t h Of eed an d
pl t s I Ch m N w p i s
.

an . n e . e s ( Lo n do n ) , v 0 1 6 5, 6 3 , ll u . . .

1 89 2 A t i f l t ri c on o an e ec c c u rr e n t u on p t h e g ro w t h Of s dsee In
Ch m N w s ( L d ) p
. .

e . e on on ,
v ol 6 6 , . . 1 99 .

( 3 1 ) LE I H Y C E d T A YL J W
G T an O R,
Wh pt
. . . .
, ,

1 9 2 4 El t h mi l t tm t e c ro c e ca re a en of s eed eat U S De Agr

Ci 3 0 5 7 p p ill
. . . . . .

rc .
,
.
,
u s .

( 3 2 ) LE M STR O M S
i it y i
.
,

1 90 4 . Ele c t r c in a g r cu lt u r e an d h o rt i c u lt u r e . 72 pp .
, i llu s .

Lo n d o n a n d Ne w Y o r k .

(33) LO D GE, O
i it i pp
.

1 9 0 8 Ele c t r c y in a g r cu lt u r e In Na t u r e v ol 78, 3 3 1 —3 3 2 ,
i s
. . .
, .

llu .

191 1 T h e m o d e o f c o n d u ct o n i n g a e llu t ra t e d b y t h e b e h a v o u r i s s i s i
i i J
.

o f e le c t r c v a c u u m v a lv e s I n Ph l M a g a n d ou r Sc i ,
pp i s
. . . . .

s er 6 , v o l 22 , 1 7 , llu -
. . . .

( 3 5) M AC C AG N O , J
fl ii sf i s i
.

’
1 8 80 In u en z a d ell e le t t r c t a a t m o e r ca u lla v eg et a z o n e d e lla
it p pp
.

v e . I n St a z S e r A g r It a l . . . .
,
v ol . 9, .
—
8 3 89 .

( 3 6 ) M A SC A R T E E
i i it é st t i q i ll s is
. .
,

1 87 6 . T ra t é d ’
é le c t r c a u e . 2 v ol .
,
u . Pa r .

( 3 7 ) NE WMAN J E
i i t y— pp li d i ii
. .
,

1911 Ele c t r c as a e to a g r cu lt u r e I n Ele c t r c an v ol 66,

pp ill s
. . .
,

. 915 916, u .
34 B U LLE T I N 1 3 79 , U . 8 . D EP AR T M E NT OF A G RI CU L T U RE

1 9 22 Ele c t r i it y
c an d pl an t g ro w t h I n St a n d a rd h a n d b o o k fo r
t i gi s pp
. .

e le c r ca l en n eer ,
Ed . 5, . 1 8 1 0 —1 8 1 1 Ne w Y o rk . .

( 3 9 ) P AU LI N
i fl M is
.

D o n t br o n
’ ’
1 89 2 e 1 n u e n ce d e l éle c t r i c i t é su r la
eg et a t i o n
v

[N t s f f i i
. . .

Re B r u t t n , A , L i n fl u e n z a d e 11
’ ’
o een e r e n ce ro m

l t t i it a s i p Mi
. .

e e r c u ll a v eg e t a z o n e , . 21 6 la n o 1912 ]
. .

(4 0 ) P L WMAN
O A B
i s f p l t g w t h t i i t—i i s il
. .
,

1 90 2 C e rt a f th n re la t o n o an ro o on za on o e o
J l 1 4 pp 1 2 9 1 3 2 i ll s
. .

S i
’

I Am 4 n er . ou r . c .
,
s er .
,
vo .
,
.
, u .

1 9 0 3 El t m ti f — i pl t s I A m J e c ro S i 4 o ve o r ce n an n er ou r c s er
l 1 5 pp 9 4 1 0 4 i ll s
. . . .
,
. .
,

vo .
,
.
,
u .

( 4 2) P R I S L Y J H
E T E
ff t f l t i i ty p p l t—s I P B is t l N t
. .
,

1 9 0 7 Th e e ec o e ec r c u on an n ro c r o a
pp 1 9 2 2 0 3
. . . .

S 4 l 1 oc .
,
s er .
, vo . . .

1910 O h d l t i l d is h g s d plv ert g wt h I J

ea e e c r ca c ar e an an ro n o u r.
7 pp
. .

B d Ag [L d ] l 1 1 —
6 28 r . on on vo . . .
, ,
.

( 4 4 ) Ro s s W
i p im t s — g t t i
.
,

1 84 4 G a lv a n c ex er en on v e e a on U S Co m r Pa t e n t s
l 2 7 pp 3 7 0 3 7 3 i ll s
. . . . .

Rp t .
,
v o .
,
.
,
u .

( 4 5) SE N E B I E R J
si i s
.
,

Ph y o lo g e v é g é t a le . 5 v ol . G e n eve .

( 4 6 ) SO LLY E
i fl i it y i J
.
,

1 84 6 Th e n u e n c e o f e le c t r c on v eg et a t o n In ou r H o r t So c
pp
. . . . .

Lo n d o n , v ol . 1 . 8 1 — 109 .

(4 7) W ILS NO C T R
sp h i l t i i t y I i ti
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1 9 23 Atm o er c e ec r c n G la z e b r o o k , R A d c o n a ry of
pp li d p h y si s l 3 pp i ll s
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1 888—1 8 9 3 Ele k t r ch e K u lt u rv e rs u c h e In F o r ch A g r Ph y
pp pp
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Bd . 11, . 8 8—1 1 2 , 1 8 88 ; 1 6 , . 2 4 3 —2 6 7 , 1 89 3 .
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U NIT ED ST A T ES D EP A R T M E N T O F A G RI C U L T U R E

D ece m be r 22 , 1 9 25

Secr et a ry of A g ri c u l t u re W . M J AR IN . D E .

Ass i s ta n t Secr et a r y R . W D NLA . U P .

Di rect o r o f Sci e n t ific W o rk

Di r ect o r of Reg u la t o r y W ork W A L TE R G . C A M PB E LL .

Di re ct o r of E x t en si o n W o rk " . C . W . W A RB U RT O N .

Di rect o r of I n fo r m a t i o n "
-

NE LS O N A NTR IM CRA W F O RD .

Di rect o r of P er s o n n e l a n d B u si n e ss A d m i n i s

t ra t i o n W . W . ST O C K B E R G E R .

R W W .ILLI S AM . .

W ea t h er B u rea u L S M I
C HAR E F
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A R V N C h ef . .

B u r ea u of A g r i cu l t u r a l Eco n o m is
c S i
T H O M A P C O O P E R , C h ef . .

of A n i m a l I nd u s t r y JOHN R M L i
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B u rea u O H E R , C h ef . .

B u rea u of P l a n t I n d u s t r y ILLI AM A TAYL i

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W . .

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T O N W H T N E , C h ef .

B u rea u of En t o m o l o g y O HOW
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L . . A RD ,
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r ec o r .

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Ofi ce of C o o p er a t i v e Ex t en si o n W or k C B SM I H C h i f
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CLA I L R BA N Li b
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P a c ker a n d St o ck y a r d A d m n i s i st ti ra on J HN T C AI N i Ch g
O . E, n ar e .

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. . . U VE ,
n ar e .

Th i s b u lle t i n i s a co n i
t r b u t i o n fr o m

B u rea u o f P l a n t In d u s t ry W ILLI A M A TA . YL O R, C h ef i .

Ofi ce o f B i o p h ys i ca l si
In ve t g a t i s
on G . N CO . LLI N S ,
Sen i or B o ta n i s t in
C h a rg e .

A D D IT I O N AL C OPI E S
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