Study Shows Weak External Electric Fields May Protect Crops From Infection

Research from Dr. Giovanni Sena's group in the Department of Life Sciences highlights an intriguing method to help protect plants from pathogen attacks using weak electric fields.

By placing electric fields near plant roots, the team showed it is possible to partially shield them from the harmful spores of pathogens.

The approach works because certain spores, such as those of Phytophthora palmivora, which attacks palms and nuts, are electrotactic—meaning they are naturally drawn to electric charges.

The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

In earlier work, the same group quantified this electrotactic behavior, revealing how P. palmivora spores are attracted to positive electrodes.

Now, the group has shown that placing a device that generates such a field near the roots of plants like Arabidopsis and Medicago can significantly reduce the number of spores that attach to them.