ABSTRACT
Earth’s magnetic field is a natural component of environment and is an inescapable factor for all living organisms including plants. Local differences in strength and direction of the geomagnetic field have been detected. Since geo magnetic field (GMF) has been present since the beginning of plant life along with gravity, light, temperature and water availability it has also played a role in plant evolution. Among these factors except gravity, all others, including GMF, changed consistently during plant evolution contributing to abiotic stress and selection pressure eventually resulting in plant diversification and speciation. Studies showed that the biomass of Arabidopsis seedlings grown under near-null magnetic field did not show significant difference compared to control at vegetative stage. Ability of blue light receptors to act as magnetoreceptors has been explained by ‘radical pair model’ based on the proposition that radical pairs are involved in magnetoreception.
