The effect of electromagnetic field was examined on Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) seeds to enhance seed germination and early growth. The seeds were exposed to four magnetic strengths of 15, 100, 400 and 800 μT in four durations of 30, 60, 120 and 240 min. The experiments were carried out in two forms of laboratory germination and soil emergence. Results showed that magnetic field application enhanced seed performance in both terms of laboratory germination and soil emergence. The magnetic field significantly (p≤0.05) affected root length, shoot length, fresh and dry root weight, fresh and dry shoot weight, seedling length and weight, germination percentage, speed of germination, vigor index I and II in laboratory germination. Also, the magnetic field exposure significantly affected soil emergence factors of root length, shoot length, dry root weight, dry shoot weight, seedling length, emergence percentage and emergence speed at 0.05 level of probability. The other factors were significantly (p≤0.05) different compared with unexposed control. No significantly differences were found on the interaction of time and exposure field. The best results were found to 400 μT (micro Tesla) on seed germination and seed emergence. The exposure durations of 240 and 30 min showed promising results over all magnetic fields in seed germination and emergence, respectively. However, there was no significant difference among exposure times.
