Electrotherapy of pre-sowing seed: A novel technique for yield improvement in crop plants

Treating seeds with electric current(EC) improves yield over control in crop plants. EC treatment influences various physiological and biochemical activities in plants leading to higher yield. In monoecious cucurbits, it induces femaleness and reduces male: female flower ratio. Although, this technology was first applied in cucurbitaceous plants to improve yield, but now it has been extended to other crops like cereals, pulses, oilseeds etc. and the results are very much encouraging as evidenced by present review work. Hence, this technology might be considered as a reliable tool to improve yield in various crop plants.