Efecto del agua tratada magnéticamente en el desarrollo y la producción de cúrcuma (Curcuma longa L.)

Curcuma longa is a promising crop for the region of Valle del Cauca (Colombia), which demands a high availability of water resources in order to obtain optimum yields. lrrigation is a key factor in achieving such yields; for that reason, one of the more important tasks is to ensure the availability of water throughout the vegetative cycle. With the aim of evaluating new technologies that contribute to the improvement of the production of this crop, this paper examined the effect of magnetically treated water (MTW) on the physiological growth and production of C. longa. For the water stimulation, two magnetizers, installed in series within a recirculation circuit, were used. Three exposure times to the magnetic field were used (10, 15 and 30 min), along with a recirculated control treatment without magnetrons and an absolute control treatment without recirculation. The experiment design was completely randomized with one factor. The magnetization system was attached to a drip irrigation system; the treatments were applied for three months to C. longa plants under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that the recirculation time of MTW for 30 min with a magnetic induction of 156 mT resulted in a statistically significant increase in the length of the plants, the number of rhizomes, the number of tillers, the fresh weight and the dry weight, higher than that of the other treatments. According to these results, the application of magnetized water could be regarded as a promising agro-environmental technology that improves crop yield in C. longa.