Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 10: The Effects of Electroculture
on Plants
In this chapter, we will be covering the more interesting side of plant physiology - the
large-scale effects that can be observed during electrical stimulation. As we mentioned in
the last chapter, a wide number of physiological effects can be induced through APs and
calcium signaling processes due to the feedback or amplification factor that occurs as these
mechanisms interact with each other. The result of all of this activity is the creation of a
superhighway of electrical and chemical messages that flow throughout the plant. As we
learned, these messages are capable of causing a great number of things to happen. In fact,
“…there are approx. 700 known protein components that function at various stages of
calcium signaling. These have yet to be identified and characterized.”
Thus, when plants are exposed to external electric fields, what follows is a huge increase
in activity. Considering that just from the calcium signaling process alone that there are
hundreds of protein components, each responsible for controlling different portions of the
plant's physiology, the range of effects is probably larger than we can imagine at this
time. Since proteins represent functions codified by the genetics involved, depending on the
different outcomes are possible.
Let'sgodeeperandstartexploringtherangeofphysiologicalresponsesthatarepossiblevia
the
previous concept-map
from chapter 9.
Genetic Responses
Genetics, or the study of biological characteristics and how they are projected into future
generations, is one of the major areas of plant physiology that can be affected by external
forces.Thesecharacteristics, codified withinstrandsof
DNA
,represent cellular information
thatcanbetransformedintodifferentfunctionalorstructuralforms.Sometraitsorfunctions
that can be affected by the use of electric fields are:
