Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 11: Benefits and Applications
“Theearsofthecropwillbelargerandfuller,theleavesofvegetables,fruittrees,vines,
and other vegetation will begin to be thicker, larger, greener, the fruit will be larger and
more numerous, the vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, beans, etc., will be much
larger and more abundant.” [ Electroculture by Justin Christofleau]
Now that we have a basis for the scientific fundamentals of electroculture, we can take a
more detailed look at the many benefits that can be realized.
Electro-Tropism
While you have probably heard of the term photo-tropism (the movement of plant limbs
towards light) from high-school science class, you may not have learned that plants respond
inasimilarwayinthepresenceofanelectricfield.Plantsareknowntoresponddirectionally
to various environmental factors through greater elongations of one set of cells over another
set of cells. These are called tropisms. So phototropism is a biological trait that enables
plants to maximize exposure to sunlight.
Similarly, with respect to this body of work, there is electrotropism - which is the response
of plants to electric fields. As we covered earlier, plants thrive under different types and
strengths of electric fields, so it makes sense that the way they behave in response to
electricity would be similar to the way they respond to the presence of energy-laden light
sources.
The way plants respond to electric fields in an electrotropic manner is by moving their roots
towards the positive electrode. How could this be useful? One idea is that if it is found that
a certain type of grass seed responds well to electroculture, then it could possibly be used to
help spread the root system over a wider area, rather than just deeper. This could help with
erosion to some degree. Perhaps it could be used as a way of eliminating bare-spots in the
soil - by letting plant roots spread to places where they would normally not grow.
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