Magnetically Treated Irrigation Water Improves the Production and the Fruit Quality of Strawberry Plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) in the Northwest of Morocco

Utilization of magnetically treated water has been investigated and applied in many countries such as Russia, Australia, Israel, China and Japan. Studies have shown that the magnetic field is used as a safe alternative to improve plant growth and development. Although the properties of magnetically treated water have received a great deal of interest in recent years, there are no studies conducted in Moroccan agricultural conditions. The present study aimed at gaining more insight on the effect of magnetically treated irrigation water (MTIW) in the northwest region of Morocco, on the yield of strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. Camarosa) and its components. The experiments were conducted in situ, during two crop seasons (2011-2012 and 2013-2014). The results confirm that physical treatment of irrigation water by a static magnetic field improves the yield and quality of strawberry fruits. The percentages of increase in number of flowers, number of fruits, fruit yield and quality of export production per 100 plants were 27.4%, 30.9%, 34.8%, 24.3%, respectively, compared with normal irrigation water (average over both crop seasons). These results suggest that irrigation with MTIW improves the production as well as the quality of the strawberry fruit, thus water use efficiency was enhanced. Therefore, the MTIW can be considered as a promising technique for improvement but extensive research is still required.