Stimulating Effects of Seed Treatment by Magnetized Plasma on Tomato Growth and Yield

Tomato seeds (Lycopersicon esculentum L. Mill. cv. zhongshu No. 6) were treated by magnetized plasma before being sown to investigate its effect on the growth and yield of tomatoes. Biochemical analysis showed that dehydrogenase activity increased with the increase of the current but decreased when the current was higher than 1.5 A. The activities of peroxidase (POD) isoenzyme changed in the same pattern. There was no difference in germination percentage between treatments and control, which were carried out in laboratory conditions. However, significant (α = 0.01) difference was observed in germination percentage in the pot experiment. In the pot experiment, the sprouting rate for the treatment with a 1.5 A current was 32.75%, whereas the untreated was only 4.75% on the eleventh day. Germination time is more than one day earlier than the control. The 1.5 A treatment increased the tomato yield by 20.7%.