Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In the study of Paleolightning , it is speculated that lightning played a part in the genesis of
early life. Further studies on the subject have found that lightning storms improve nitrogen
fixation, boosting the development of plant life 5 . Yet, there may be other factors at play,
according to the research of L.E. Murr who wrote about the stimulation effect of plants in
electrostatic fields 6 .
What's interesting is that there have been many reports over the ages stating that plants
generally look healthier after a thunderstorm. As an example, one time in late 2013 on
GardenWeb, a man named Derek said, “When it rains, all of my plants grow a lot more
thanwithjustplainoldwateringinthemorning.It'srainedforabout3daysonandoffhere
with some sunshine and my pumpkin vines have easily grown 6 inches but it will take a
week for them to grow that much with no rain and just water?” 7
Most experts state that the primary reason for this effect is that lightning turns atmospheric
nitrogen into a form (nitrous oxide) more easily assimilated by plants. So when
nitrogen-enriched rain falls from the skies, it gives them a boost.
My hypothesis, based on information found in Chapters 9 and 10 , is that under the
conditions of an electrical storm, the abundance of free-floating ions in the air creates a
charge imbalance on plant cell walls. As you will see, this imbalance will lead to a wide
array of physiological changes.
Other forms of atmospheric electricity that have also been found to be beneficial to plant
life include the high-latitude display of the Aurora Borealis and the bombardment of the
Earth by cosmic radiation.
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