DUDGEON : Electroculture
It is only recently that a reasonably full physiological mechanism for Electro-Culture has been put forward. Andrew Goldsworthy, a specialist in plant biotechnology at Imperial College, suggested in 2006 that what is seen in Electro-Cultural experiments is a plant's natural reaction to a brewing thunderstorm. Building on the work done in the 1960s and 1970s, he argues that if a plant is to make best use of the water supplied by a thunderstorm, especially if it grows in dry conditions, then it will be a selective advantage to respond quickly before it drains away. The 16 kV/m voltage gradients under thunderclouds are thus an excellent signal of imminent heavy precipitation. Significantly, these are strikingly similar to those that the Committee found in the laboratory to be effective in Electro-Culture, as they are sufficient to establish a current of around 3x10-9A through the plants on the ground, thus suggesting that the Electro-Cultural effect that the Committee and others were studying was actually a physiological response evolved though plant competition for water in dry climates. If the plant is subjected to such an electric field, genes are activated which promote metabolic activity, generating enzymes for example, and increase the permeability of the cell membranes of the roots ready for the water. As such, Goldsworthy argues that an essential part of electroculture must be a ready supply of water, at the latest four hours after electrification and that electrifying the plants in dry conditions is likely to harm them as they will waste so much energy (Goldsworthy, 2006: 248-9). He argues that given that the American researchers switched off the electric current if rain was forecast, it was not at all surprising that they only achieved negative results[11] (ibid.: 249). These later discoveries indicate that the Committee, and other electro-culturists of the time, had a significant gap in their knowledge and an inadequate conceptual framework in place, perhaps even more inadequate than Sidaway suspected.
DUDGEON : Electroculture
Very contradictory results were obtained by the various users of the Lodge-Newman apparatus, and the subject lost much prestige. The results of the company's own experiments with wheat in over a series of years were reported as an increase varying from 0 percent to 39 percent. The next phase in the development of electroculture opened in 1911. The British Board of Agriculture gave a grand to Professor Priestley of Leeds for a scientific investigation of these new methods and their value. Professor Priestley collaborated with Mr. I. Jorgensen, an electrical expert and plant physiologist, and with Miss E. C. Dudgeon of Dumfries. In the result it appeared that many technical difficulties existed. At first no favorable results were obtained, but in the last two years, with improved methods, increased of 50 percent over the ordinary crop have been recorded with oats on Miss Dudgeon's land.
From "Electricity in Agriculture: the uses of electricity in arable, pasture, dairy, and poultry farming; horticulture; pumping and irrigation; electroculture; and general mechanical and domestic service on farms; for farmers, agriculturists, horticulturists, supply-station engineers, electrical manufacturers, and others" (1922) by Arthur H. Allen.
The Wolfryn Process. During recent years much has been claimed for a system of electrifying seeds before sowing the Wolfryn process, in which the seed is soaked in a weak solution of salt or calcium chloride, through which a current is passed for several hours, after which the seed is dried in a kiln. Large areas were sown with the electrified seed in Dorset, and the results obtained were said by many farmers to be quite comparable with those given above for electroculture. Reports of the Director of the Government Agricultural Experimental Station at Rothamsted, and by Messrs. Sutton and Sons at Reading, on trials carried out in 1919, were, however, unfavourable. While in both cases some tests showed a slight increase of yield, others showed the contrary, and the conclusion was that the process lacked certainty, and could not be compared in effectiveness with manuring the soil. It was regarded as an "adventure," which might or might not prove profitable. At the time of writing, therefore, it cannot be considered a sound process. 041b061a72