An introduction to Electroculture

[Dannydavito]

A niche growing style that may soon gain traction within the growing community is electroculture! Electroculture is a term used to describe a wide range of growing techniques that involve a plants response to electricity. The idea of electroculture has been around for hundreds of years but unfortunately it remains largely unstudied.

The theory behind it
There are several theories regarding how electric current interacts with plant physiology.

Increased nutrient uptake
Electric fields can cause the charged particles in nutrients to become free floating within a soil medium, allowing faster uptake.

Root stimulation
The application of electric fields to roots seems to lead to increased root mass in a quicker time period.

Increased oxygen- the application of dc current within the medium will cause electrolysis of water. Hydrogen will be released at one electrode while oxygen will be released at the other. This means oxygen is generated in the root zone
Yield- researchers in China have reported up to a 30 percent yield increase with electroculture techniques



How to make an electroculture setup

As I said the research is lacking on this subject and it is near nonexistent in the non scientific community. In order for us to gain a deeper understanding we need to conduct experiments to see what we can do with commercial materials.

One setup involves placing a thin insulated wire above the plant. The height above the plant will vary depending on the voltage of the wire. This is a more advanced setup as a high voltage is required across the wire.

Another setup involves placing two electrodes into the soil and running current between them. In this case a lower voltage and current should be used to prevent damage to the plant.

A typical "bench" style power supply should be sufficient for our purposes. A cheap one that can push 30v at 0-5 amps should work great. For electrodes you want something non-corrosive such as stainless steel or carbon. I can make a tutorial on how to extract carbon rods from common household items if you would like.
Please share any info regarding this subject in the comments. I am by no means experienced in this field. I am excited at the prospects of it and would like to see others join the research.
I will be updating this as I learn more.

 

[Rckola]

subbed!

 

[Dannydavito]

I wrote a guide on removing carbon rods from lantern batteries. It's a cheap effective way to get electrodes for electroculture.

How to extract carbon rods for use in electroculture.

Electrodes are needed for experimenting in electroculture. Sure any old conductive rod will work but ideally it should be non corrosive to limit contaminants and unwanted reactions. Luckily high quality thick carbon rods can be found in common lantern batteries. Materials Lantern battery Pliers...

www.rollitup.org

 

[potroastV2]

Good post.

What if I just plant my plants near the telephone poles?

 

[Dannydavito]

Good post.

What if I just plant my plants near the telephone poles?

I know your joking but honestly that's a great idea haha. Telephone lines were subject to scrutiny from some of the more conspiratorial among us. They believed the electrical fields generated by the lines could cause cancer. While this is false power lines do emit strong electric fields, which could be possibly utilized. I'm not sure about the effective range of the field though as it decreases with distance. I'm now imagining a plant being hung in a pot from the wire lol.

 

[Renfro]

Interested in seeing how this plays out. Will be following along.

 

[Renfro]

I wrote a guide on removing carbon rods from lantern batteries. It's a cheap effective way to get electrodes for electroculture.

How to extract carbon rods for use in electroculture.

Electrodes are needed for experimenting in electroculture. Sure any old conductive rod will work but ideally it should be non corrosive to limit contaminants and unwanted reactions. Luckily high quality thick carbon rods can be found in common lantern batteries. Materials Lantern battery Pliers...

www.rollitup.org

You can get the carbon electrodes without having to strip them out of a battery, cheaper that way. Here is just one example:

Electrode, Carbon Rod 230mm

This Carbon Rod Electrode can be used for voltaic cells, electrolysis experiments, fruit batteries, and more! The rod measures 230mm x 5mm diameter.

www.arborsci.com

 

[Renfro]

I even found videos on how to make your own carbon electrodes:

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I could believe it. This is interesting.

 

[Budzbuddha]

Easier to plant next to 5G towers or wind turbines

 

[J232]

I’m going to listen too.

 

[Macncheesehaze]

Easier to plant next to 5G towers or wind turbines

It’ll really make a difference?

 

[rob333]

I even found videos on how to make your own carbon electrodes:

yea im still into shirt folding machines on youtube ren

 

[rob333]

 

[Renfro]

Here I am still using hangers. lol

 

[T macc]

I studied this a while back. Somewhere in California is a notebook with my schematics to a product I had in mind back in the day.

Never saw proof, but try taking a patio path light, the ones with a small solar panel, attaching the wires to rods. Place t
Each rod at either side of the base of the plant.

Look up this thing called "Plantricity". Its really cool. He used an electric pulse machine. I dont remember what they're called; you use them to help with pain. Anyway, he increased the current on the machine as did the growth pattern of the plant.

 

[GrimRe4]

Interesting. I recall a study about the effects of magnetic fields on plant growth, in which they only subjected seeds to the magnetic field prior to germ. Will be interested to see this go somewhere.

Link ->
www.sciencedirect.com
Interesting read as magnetic fields and electricity go hand in hand

 

[PhenoMenal]

I'm very interested and thankyou dannydevito for bringing this up!
but I think i'll wait for the side-by-side test grows! (I also have safety concerns regarding fire, which really need to be addressed first and in detail)

 

[pop22]

when I see this tested in a scientific manner then I'll consider it. However, if this technique were valid, why isn't it used commercially? I'm not buying it. Are you going to try this? with how many clones? How many control plants? How many strains?

 

[Kassiopeija]

when I see this tested in a scientific manner then I'll consider it. However, if this technique were valid, why isn't it used commercially?

No offense, but I see this argument popping up too often... it's basically just rhetorism. Electroculture may be something that is too difficult for garderners, or too plant specific, or still not researched enough... science is constantly evolving, the number of scientists isn't infinite etc pp so I can think of many reasons of why EC "didn't make it".
Just like the famous "plants can't use green light" myth or "the world is a disc" which prevailed for hundred, the latter for thousands of years.

And sometimes, stances change even back and forth, for example, the millenia-long-lasting geocentrical world-view by C. Ptolemy "the world is the center of the universe" got debunked by the heliocentrical view of N. Kopernikus.
Paradoxically later, A. Einstein's theories on (special & general) relativity (in conjunction with the Big Bang theory) teaches us now that the universe is infinite and it doesn't matter from which point in spacetime one does look - the *observer* will always be at the very center (of the universe).

Non-scientific experiments may just be for fun or curiosity, and shouldn't be included in a grande commercial OP, as the danger that one does more harm than good is very likely.

But, the possibility of a potential gain is there...:
"The effect of small increments of direct current on the growth and ion uptake in Scotia tomato plants was determined. The natural endogenous current in the plant was first assessed and the current applied to reinforce or oppose the natural with three treatment durations per day. Significant increases in linear growth (5 to 30%) were obtained and also significant increases in uptake by the plants of K, Ca, and P when currents were between 15 and 3 μA per plant with the plant negative to the ground. A reduction in growth occurred when the plants were treated with 15 μA positive to the ground or with any currents of magnitude greater than 30 μA per plant. The increased ion accumulation seems not to be merely a passive movement under the applied potential, and it is thought that small currents may stimulate active ion pumps or alter the internal distribution of growth-regulating compounds in a somewhat erratic manner."
Electrical stimulation and its effects on growth and ion accumulation in tomato plants

From the first added .pdf:

(Note: Arabidopsis thaliana is a rolemodell organism in plant physiology ...)
So it seems like it's a tightrope walk.... perhaps one of the reasons why the (old) 2nd added .pdf came to inconclusive results...

Just did a single search on this, but there's more evidence out there...

This should be a fun thing to try out, but don't do this with the common household 110V/ 220V [!]