ELECTRICAL STIMULATION FOR THE GROWTH OF PLANTS: WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE EFFECTS OF NEARBY LIGHTNING ON MUSHROOMSNOR AZREEN MOHD JAMIL, CHANDIMA GOMES, CHAN PICK KUEN, MOHD ZAINAL ABIDIN AB KADIR AND ASHEN GOMESAbstract Electrical stimulation could trigger biological activities of plants, enhancing their production rate. This paper addresses the application of this technology on mushroom which, possesses unique developmental process that depends on hyphae morphogenesis at growth stages; thus their response to electrical stimulation should be studied separately. The study analyses the information available on electrical environment of mushrooms with the view of investigating the efficiency of external electric stimulation approaches for the enhancement of their progress at various growth stages. Electric treatments at relatively low strengths, applied for a short exposure time have resulted positive impacts on growth rates, yields, length and size of various plants. In the case of mushrooms, the only information available on successful external electrical stimulation technique is the application of high voltage pulses. The technique has shown positive effects on the growth rate of varieties such as shiitake and nameko. This approach has been adopted based on the unconfirmed claims that lightning in the vicinity develops cracks in mushroom hyphae and stimulates their enzyme activities, which in turn boosts the growth rate. Based on the outcomes, we foresee a good economic viability of mushroom production with these modern technologies and methodologies.
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