Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds were exposed to electric field from zero to 1300 V for 15 min at three different temperatures (13, 16 and 19°C). It was found that the exposure of chickpea seeds to the electric field caused a change in water uptake capacity (and its coefficient) as compared to control. A new theoretical model for water uptake was developed and verified experimentally. Experiments were performed at three different temperatures. It was observed that temperature nullifies the effect of the electric field on seeds.  

Key words:  Cicer arietinum L. seeds, electric-field, water-uptake model, ferroelectric effect.