Comment by t-3

Maybe not a coincidence! The previous research linked in the article mentions this in lab testing:

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JD03...

  > Visually, the corona discharges generated on the leaves were either small purple-blue point discharges or elongated purple-blue discharges, and usually formed on the tips of the leaf closest to the source of the electric field (Figure 1). Sometimes the corona discharges were steady and constant, but other times they would dim and brighten in an unsteady pulse. When the corona was turned off, the tips of the leaf where the discharges occurred were often burned and browned, even for the weakest electric fields applied to the leaves.