Mobile phones may have become ubiquitous in rural areas and popular among farmers. But electromagnetic radiation emanating from them may be stunting the growth of agricultural crops and plants, preliminary research has revealed.
Studies carried out at Panjab University, Chandigarh, suggest that electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from cell phones could choke seeds, affect germination and early growth. This is said to be the first such study on the impact of EMF radiation on seeds.
Though different groups of scientists have been studying the effect of mobile radiation on human beings, there has been no conclusive outcome yet. But Panjab University scientists have found definite clues on the ill-effects of electromagnetic radiation on crops and plants.
The results were surprising – they indicated that the radiation emitted from the cell phones inhibited germination and early growth of the pulse. The germination of the seeds exposed to two and four hours of cell phone radiation reduced by 18 and 30 per cent respectively, compared to seeds that were not exposed to any radiation.
Their research results are to be announced in an international scientific journal soon.