Effect of Magnetic Strength of the Water Salinity Treatment Devices on Salt Accumulation in the Root Zoon and Its Impact on Growth and Productivity of Olive Trees

Abstract

This study was conducted during the two successive seasons 2022 and 2023 at Wadi El-Natron west Nile Delta (EL-Behera governorate) to evaluate three commercial magnetic devices “Water magnetizers” of different manufacturers (Nefertari Biomagnetic 6000 Gauss, Magnolith 8000 Gauss, Delta Water 14000 Gauss), and to figure out which is more effective to reduce the negative effect of irrigating olive trees with saline water. The study examined the effect on vegetative growth, leaf mineral contents, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf proline content, and relative water content of Manzanillo olive trees. The experiment confirmed that olive trees can be irrigated with water containing 3500 ppm without causing high salt stress. Data also showed a positive effect of magnetically treated water on all vegetative growth characters (growth rate, stem diameter, number of green leaves), an increase in all elements content in experimental plant leaves except sodium and chloride, an increase in leaf chlorophyll content, decreased leaf proline content and increase relative water content. In terms of determining whether commercial devices are more effective than others, the Magnolith has been demonstrated to achieve the best results when compared to other devices, in most cases the difference between using "Delta Water" or "Nefertari" was not big enough to be significant. "Nefertari" recorded almost the lowest values of the studied vegetative growth characters, leaf chlorophyll, and relative water content. This indicates that the strength of the magnets alone is not the only thing that affects how well the device works; furthermore, it depends also on how the magnetic fields are configured and the manufacturing expertise.