Is Radio Wave Treatment of Water a Credible Solution for Agriculture?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the credibility of radio wave treatment of water as a potential solution for agriculture, particularly in enhancing crop yields. Participants explore the claims made about the technology, its development, and its endorsements, while questioning the scientific validity and peer-reviewed support for these claims.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express skepticism about the technology, labeling it as "woo" and questioning its scientific basis.
  • One participant cites a claim that radio wave-treated water can increase vegetable and fruit output by up to 30 percent, referencing a development by researchers at Limerick University.
  • Concerns are raised regarding the lack of peer-reviewed studies supporting the claims made about the technology.
  • A participant mentions that the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew has not endorsed the Vi-Aqua products since 2009, suggesting that recent claims of endorsement are inaccurate.
  • Another participant notes that the company's website raises red flags typically associated with pseudoscience.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express skepticism about the claims surrounding radio wave treatment of water, with multiple competing views on its credibility and scientific support. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the validity of the technology.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the absence of peer-reviewed studies, the reliance on potentially outdated endorsements, and the lack of clarity on the scientific principles behind the technology.

CWatters
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Gold Member
Messages
10,546
Reaction score
2,324
I hesitate to post this as it sure sounds like woo but it comes from an Irish University Prof. and appears to be endorsed by the Royal botanic gardens at Kew!

Does anyone know of a peer reviewed paper?

http://www.independent.ie/business/...lobal-warming-gm-and-pesticides-29525621.html

Selected quotes:

Wave goodbye to global warming, GM and pesticides. Radio wave-treated water could change agriculture as we know it.

The technology – radio wave energised water – massively increases the output of vegetables and fruits by up to 30 per cent.

Developed by Professor Austin Darragh and Dr JJ Leahy of Limerick University's Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science.

Vi-Aqua – meaning 'life water' – converts 24 volts of electricity into a radio signal, which charges up the water via an antennae...

Extensively tested in Warrenstown Agricultural College...

During recent successful tomato crop field trials in Italy, three of the country's largest Agricultural Co-op's were so impressed with the results that they have now decided to recommend the technology to the country's farming community.
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Nothing neither here nor here. And I agree it definitely sounds like a woo woo.
 
Googling Vi Aqua, one finds the company web page. It raises most of the red flags of pseudoscience.

The documentation presented makes no reference to any peer-reviewed study. As such, I think the subject if off-limits for PF.
 
A member at Jref e-mailed the Botanic Gardens and got a reply.
I have received a reply from the Customer Information Supervisor at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:
Originally Posted by RBC, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has not endorsed the Vi-Aqua products since 2009. A recent press article in the Irish Independent that mentioned this endorsement and activities by Kew around it, was inaccurate.

http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=9458688&postcount=49
 
Last edited: