Physiological and Chemical Features of Magnetically Treated Winter Wheat Seeds and Resultant Seedlings

Seed of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), cultivar Kharkov 22 MC, magnetically treated before germination respired more slowly, released less heat energy, and grew faster during the initial 16 hr than similar but untreated seed. Magnetically treated seed absorbed more moisture and contained more reducing sugar during the initial 72 hr of growth than un-treated seed. Addition of oxygen to the seed environment during germination repressed shoot growth and enhanced root growth of magnetically treated wheat but had no effect on untreated seed. Addition of carbon dioxide to the seedling environment suppressed the growth of shoots and roots of treated and untreated wheat seed equally.