Hello,

I assume you are referring to the social media fad of passive electroculture – placing copper wires or coils in the soil to “capture electricity from the atmosphere.” I don’t know if anyone at MSU is specifically studying electroculture, but my guess is no. Electroculture has pretty much been debunked by research-based institutions. There is no basis in physics to explain the claims made by electroculture proponents.

However, if someone believes the claims of electroculture and therefore becomes more invested in gardening, there really is no harm, right? I would just advise a client that any improvements in the garden results are likely related to the care they are taking of the plants and not specifically from the copper coils.

Here is an article from Washington State University that explains why passive electroculture has no scientific corroboration: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2083/2024/07/24-07-20-Electroculture.pdf

Now, there has been research on active electroculture, in which electric fields are applied to the soil of growing plants, but I did not find any reference to this research being conducted at MSU.

Hope this helps.