Running head: THE EFFECTS OF SALT ON BRASSICA 1
The Effects of Salt on BRASSICA
Dario Calderon
Shenel Harriott
Etien Mbah
Department of Biology, PGCC
BIO 1140-LD01: Prin. of Biology: Cell/Molec
Dr. Anriany
April 14, 2020
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About experiment with salt, Schemes and Mind Maps of Cell Biology
How salt affects plants and the resulting growth of them
Typology: Schemes and Mind Maps
2019/2020
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Running head: THE EFFECTS OF SALT ON BRASSICA 1 The Effects of Salt on BRASSICA Dario Calderon Shenel Harriott Etien Mbah Department of Biology, PGCC BIO 1140-LD01: Prin. of Biology: Cell/Molec Dr. Anriany April 14, 2020
Abstract The experiment explores the hypothesis that if salt water was added to Brassica plants it would limit their growth. First to set up the experiment, sixteen seeds were planted and separated into two groups, control (8 plants) and experimental (8 plants). Both groups of plants were given ample light and fertilizer. Once the plants had germinated after the first week a salt water solution of 1 teaspoon mixed in 28mL of water was added to the experimental group. Over the course of 6 weeks the plants were to be measured weekly to record changes in height. The experimental group of Brassica plants all died by the 5th week of the experiment subsequently ending the experiment. Based on the data it is concluded that the salt water solution did have a limiting growth effect when added to Brassica plants.
[ The higher standard deviation 0.37 in weeks 5 for plants in the experimental group suggests that salt solution as a pollutant inhibited and interrupted plant growth significantly in contrast to the plants in the comntrol group a lower standard deviation of 0.29 for week 5 signifying a more consistent growth under normal conditions ] Question- Does Salt affect the growth rate of plants? Hypothesis- If salt water is given to plants, then the plants growth rate will be limited. Prediction: 1.) Salt Water will limit the growth rate of plants 2.) Salt Water will not limit the growth rate of plants Experiment: Eight control plants will be kept under normal conditions, another eight plants will be given a solution of salty water 1 teaspoon of salt mixed in with 25mL of water
Four quarts A wick sheet to soak up water Pecking sticks to support the plants Materials and Method In order to carry out this experiment about the effects of salt water as a pollutant on the growth of plants, the experimenters used the following materials as follows: No. Material Quantity Purpose 1 Quarts Four quarts To contain control and the plant under experiment 2 Wick soaking Sheet One per square quart To draw up water by osmosis for the plants’ growth 3 Brassica seeds Three per square quart The nurse the plants under experiment 4 Pecking sticks Varied as needed To hold the plants up as the fall due to gravity 5 Salt solution 1 teaspoon/ 25mLH2O 0.20 M To investigate the effect of pollutants on plant growth 6 Steady source of light To provide energy for photosynthesis and a major plant growth process 7 Ruler For measurement To measure plant growth over time 8 Soil One square quart full The soil in which to growth the plants 9 Fertilizer Three drops per square quart To increase the growth rate of plants The above tabulated material was used in this experiment with each performing a very specific function. Four Quarts were used, and each quart has for squares in which soil was contained to contain soil and the plants. A paper in the form of wick was folded and used to trap and conduct water into the quartz for plant use. Brassica seeds were used, three per square quart, and later, a thinning process was done to provide enough space for the plant to grow without competition
Discussion During the experiment, the hypothesis was proven correct that salt does in fact affect the growth of plants. The results show that during the first and second week the experimental plants did better than the control possibly due to the fact that the salt was not added until the second week so the plants had more time to grow. The significance of this is that due to so much concentration of salt the plants were not able to survive in the last week. The salt began to crystallize, showcasing too much concentration of salt. Dilfuza et al (2019) stated that soils with high salinity levels interfere with plants physiological processes. The high salt concentration adversely affects important soil processes such as respiration, residue decomposition, nitrification, soil biodiversity and microbial activity (Schirawski and Perlin, 2018). For the experimental data the error we faced was the plants dying during the sixth week that ended the experiment and we stopped collecting information on the control also.
The control experiment was the most surprising because the plants became a hypertonic solution during the weeks of 5 and 6. The error the control plants faced was that they slowly lost the pigment color turning into a sickly yellow- white color and slowly started to die. We noticed that in the 5th week the jar filled with water containing the plants was not being taken up through the roots as before and it continued until the plants lost their strength. Possibly due to the fact that the rigid cell wall was destroyed the water was able to rush out and the cells to shrink away causing a plasmolysis, which dehydrates the cells and lose all function while it was in its shrivelled state (Pearson - The Biology Place, 2020). The unknown factors that could have contributed to this state could have had multiple factors such as sunlight, too much water, etc. In Conclusion, although our hypothesis was proven correct it was also proven incorrect because the standard deviation and mean of the experimental data was higher than the control during weeks 1-4 which proved a statement of salt having a huge versatility of microorganisms, belonging to a different groups of bacteria, fungi, and archaea. Amongst microbes, some are now well known for their inherent capability to tolerate different concentrations of salt and to promote plant growth as well (Dilfuza et al, 2019). This proves plants are indeed able to survive in salt water possibly depending on how much salt is given to the plants and the nutrients added in the experiment. Evidence does strongly prove that too much salt can affect the growth rate of plants and kill the plant when consistently added.