The Effectiveness of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field and Hydrogel Influence on Survival Rate and Growth of Red Oak (Quercus rubra L.) Annual Seedlings

This work presents the results of a research that was conducted in the Donskoy Leskhoz nursery of the Forestry Department of the Lipetsk Region. The purpose of the research is to determine the effectiveness of the influence of a low-frequency electromagnetic field and the hydrogel “Evabiona” on the survival rate of red oak annual seedlings grown in open ground of the nursery. This research presents the technology for creating red oak planting material with increased survival indices of test samples and their biometric parameters: seedling height, seedling diameter at a root collar, weight of roots and aboveground part in the air-dry condition after drying for 15 days. Treatment of red oak one-year old seedlings with a low frequency electromagnetic field was carried out according to the author’s technology POSEP – pre-sowing treatment of seeds and seedlings with an electromagnetic field. The hydrogel, a polymer water-retaining agent that absorbs and retains a large amount of moisture in the rhizosphere of plants, was applied to soil in the experimental research. The ability of the hydrogel granules to swell-compression improves the structure and drainage of soils, boosting the conditions of aeration and filtration of water, and maintains its waterretaining properties for several years. The research results indicate a clear positive effect of treatment with a low-frequency electromagnetic field and the hydrogel, as there was a significant increase in the survival rate of the test samples of oak seedlings in relation to the control samples. Also within the framework of the research a comparative histometric analysis of cross sections of control and test stems of oak seedlings was carried out late in the growing season at the laboratory of the Department of Forest Crops, Selection and Dendrology of the Mytishchi Branch of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. The results of this research showed that a low-frequency electromagnetic field and the hydrogel can influence on the anatomical structure of seedlings, improving their quality characteristics. Thus, pre-sowing treatment of oak seedlings with a low-frequency electromagnetic field and the use of the hydrogel showed the effectiveness of these techniques in increasing the survival rate of seedlings and obtaining high-quality planting material of red oak in forest nurseries.