Which medium do roots use most effectiviely?

Research Question: Which media type helps plants grow large and evenly distributed roots? Media eliminates the use of soil, it soaks up water very well, and it provides support for plants as they sprout. This will also allow them to grow larger roots and cause them to uptake more nutrients. This will produce healthy plants!

Procedure:

1. I will pour water in each media.
2. I will then plant a radish seed in each media cup.
3. Put the cups (that contain the seeds in the media), and I will poke holes in the bottom to allow drainage.
4. After that, I will place them in a greenhouse, and water them with water until germination.
5. After the plants have grown as much as they can with the nutrients in their seed, we will then see how well distributed the roots were in the media (if at all) by looking through the transparent “plant pot”.
6. After that, we will empty the media and wash the roots.
7. Mass the total amount of root produced at the end of the experiment.

Data: The ranking of roots figure shows that roots penetrated the medium most effectively in the perlite, followed by the vermiculite with coconut fiber ranking lowest. The root mass graph shows that perlite has the greatest root growth compared to the vermiculite and coconut fiber.

Conclusion: In this experiment I tested different media types to see which the roots use best. By looking at the data, the perlite radish has the highest average rating and largest mass of any of the other

media-grown radish.

Medium and Germination Success Study

Research Question:

Which medium do seeds germinate better in?

Procedure:

1. Fill two cups ½ full with vermiculite, two cups ½ full with perlite and place a coconut fiber disc in two cups.
2. Place the cups in a tray. Fill the tray with water to the level of the media.
3. In one cup of each medium type, plant five radish seeds. In the other cup of each medium type, plant five snow pea seeds.
4. Record the number of seeds that germinate each day.
5. Calculate percentage germinated after three weeks.

Data:

No seeds germinated in the coconut-fiber medium within the three-week observation period. One hundred percent of the radish seeds germinated in the vermiculite, whereas 0% of the peas germinated in this medium. In the perlite, 100% of radish seeds germinated and 80% of the peas germinated.

Conclusions: In this study we tested three different media to determine which provides the best conditions for germination - perlite, vermiculite and coconut fiber. In a simple experiment with radish and peas, the perlite provide the best conditions for germination. The higher water capacity of the other materials appeared to allow the peas to mold and rot, even when the water table was well below the media surface. To better tell which medium is ideal for growing, we would have to test more seeds.

Medium and Dye Trace Study

Research Question: Which medium distributes the media most effectively?

Procedure: I will put two drops of blue food coloring into a small clear cup, three with each different media in it and 150 Ml of water then I will see which media gets the bluest to see which one works the best.


Data: Perlite distributes the media most effectively.

Conclusion: I think the perlite absorbed the blue the best, it is also lighter than the vermiculite and cocoanut fiber so the roots will float freely in the perlite.

Nutrient Deficiencies - The general symptoms observed in plants

History of Hydroponics

The Aztecs used a hydroponic system known as the floating gardens. To make this they would build rafts of rushes and reeds, lashing the stalks together with tough roots. They then dredged up soil from the shallow bottom of the lake, piling it on the rafts in a variety of organic debris. These rafts had abundant crops of vegetables, flowers, and even trees planted on them. The roots of these plants, pushing down towards a source of water, would grow through the floor of the rafts and down into the water.

The Incas dug oval ponds near their mountain dwellings, leaving an island in the center. After the ponds filled, they added fish. Geese flew in, harvested their meals from the water and relaxed on the island. Their droppings and fish scraps quickly turned the island into a super rich, high quality garden. Now not only did the Incas have the geese doing the fertilizer work, they also had fresh fish ready to eat and a moat around each garden to keep out hungry prowlers.

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics records dating back to several hundred years BC describe the growing of plants in water along the Nile without soil. Babylon also used hanging gardens, which are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and was probably one of the first successful attempts to grow plants hydroponically.