A companion paper to Kumar & Nagendra (RJAS 2011) from the same SVYASA group, testing fiberglass pyramid shape (square vs. octagonal base) on fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) germination. 120 seeds per treatment, soaked 30 minutes in distilled water, germinated on wet paper rolls, measured at Day 2 (radical emergence) and Day 4 (seedling vigor).
The fiberglass square pyramid (FGSP, 315mm × 200mm) produced significantly better radical emergence (+36.9%, p<0.001) and seedling vigor (+14.8%, p<0.001) than open-air control. The fiberglass octagonal pyramid (FGOP, 115mm × 190mm) showed smaller improvements that did not reach significance at either timepoint.
Placing this paper in the SVYASA series: The RJAS 2011 paper from the same group showed plywood outperformed fiberglass. This paper shows fiberglass square outperforms fiberglass octagonal. The two 2011 results together suggest a ranking of plywood > fiberglass square > fiberglass octagonal — but material, size, and shape are confounded at every comparison, so this ranking is inferential rather than experimentally established.
Temperature caveat: The FGSP maintained 31°C vs. 26°C control — the same +5°C differential seen in the RJAS 2011 plywood pyramid. The FGOP at 28°C shows a weaker 2°C advantage and is not significant. This pattern is fully consistent with temperature alone driving the result, without any need for a geometric energy explanation.
Source: Kumar IR, Nagendra HR. Researchers World – Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce II(2) (April 2011), pp. 195–201.