The Effect of Nutrients Deficiency on the Growth of Rye and Barley - Lab Report Example

The effect of nutrients deficiency on the growth of rye and barley. The idea of nutrients and photo hormones interaction in the development and growth of plants has widely been covered by researchers. Aspects such as leaf area, plant height, leaf area index, plant growth rate, dry weight, crop growth rate, relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, photosynthesis, net assimilation rate, rate of carbon dioxide exchange, content of chlorophyll, as well as the efficiency of nitrogen utilization have been found to influence the growth of plants. Nutrients, on the other hand, are useful in repairing and building the tissues for their proper functionality, and secondary processes of metabolism. IN this case, Nutrients may be required in high amounts (macronutrients) or in low quantities (micronutrients). As often is the case, plants obtain oxygen and carbon from the air via the openings in the leaf. These openings are often referred to as the stomata. Additionally, the plants obtain all the other nutrients from the soil through their roots hairs from the soil. In attempts to understand the factors that affect growth and development of plants, an experiment was set to investigate the effect of nutrients deficiency on the growth of rye (Secale cereal) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). Introduction. For decades, the agricultural practice has been used to serve various functions. It is worth noting that the activity of crop production has been extensively been in use since 2000 years ago. Generally, agriculture has been experiencing many challenges around the globe with other places requiring production for purposes of the acquisition electronic components, which requires expansion to give out sufficient food for the growing population (Kasai 3). This implied that the current levels of production need to be maintained in order to establish the appropriate balance between environmental concerns and intensive agriculture (Gonzalez-Reyes 3). The production of barley and rye is an area that requires much attention given that this field has involved the efforts of the agricultural scientists’ who are out to obtain attention in implementing and, innovating the improvised boosting yield methods (Heinonen 2). This becomes accomplished through the use of appropriate nutrition, high variety of yield, and measures of plant protection (Darley 2). It is also is responsible for the improvement of the practices of agronomics, creating source-sink relationships, and maintaining internal balance of hormones. This implies that the verge of getting to the ever-green era revolution, demands a detailed investigation concerning the nutrients application (Carystinos 2). This field has, however, been ignored by prior researchers. This implies that there exist a voluminous body of work on nutrients, yet the application is extremely limited. For this reason, this experiment was set to investigate the effect of nutrients to the growth of plants. Objectives of the experiment. The aim of the study was to develop the skills for planning and carrying out a scientific investigation, as well as establishing the effect of nutrients on the growth of plants. Research Questions. The following are the research questions: What are the steps taken in ensuring the reliability of the results? What is the effect of different treatments of nutrients on the growth of plants? How should soil be fertilized in order to enhance the growth of food crops? Hypothesis. H0: Increasing nutrients in plants does not increase the rate of growth of the plants. H1: Increasing nutrients in plants increases the rate of growth of the plants. Methodology. Apparatus. The materials and treatments used in this study include full complement of nutrients (N, P, K, S Ca, Mg, I, Fe), N-deficient (full complement minus N), and aged water. Procedure. Rye or Barley was grown in one of the three given solution treatments. The first treatment was the full compliment nutrients, the second treatment was the N-deficient treatment whereas the third was a treatment with no added nutrients. A planting container was obtained from the side bench and a masking tape used in labelling the sides of the container. After this, one paper towel was cut in half, folded, and placed on the bottom part of the container (Colombo 2). The layer of cotton was cut, fitted at the container bottom, and placed on the cotton towel. The other half of the paper towel was used, folded and placed on the top of the cotton. About 30 ml of the Sach’s media solution was added to the paper cotton towel, and the solution allowed to absorb in different layers. Approximately 10 ml of barley seeds were measured and spread evenly on the cotton towel. Another cotton towel was cut in folds and half’s and placed on top of the seeds. About 20 ml of the Sach’s media solution was added to the mixture. The container was then placed under the fluorescent light in the marked space for the shown lab slot time. Results. All the results collected were recorded in the displayed tables. The measures of central tendency and the measure of dispersion including the mean, standard deviation, variance, and t-statistics of the data were all collected and determined as shown in tables 1, 2, and 3. Table 1. Plant seedling data analysis - seedling shoot length water, no nitrogen, complete nutrients. TEST 1 TEST 2 TEST 3 TREATMENT Barley Water Rye Water Barley No N Rye No N Barley complete Rye Complete Sample Size (n) 12 12 24 24 24 24 Mean (x) 15.28 16.22 20.65 18.69 19.33 23.15 Standard Deviation (s) 2.395 2.391 3.096 4.277 3.23 6.93 Variance (s2) 6.26 6.24 10.00 19.08 10.90 50.14 SEM (v s2 / n ) 0.722 0.720 0.6455 0.892 0.674 1.445 Sample t Statistic Mean1 - Mean2 v SEM12 + SEM 22 -0.96 1.733 -2.422 Degrees of Freedom df = (n1 + n2) - 2 df = 22 df =42 df =42 Critical t Statistic from t -Test Table for two-tail test and p-value Critical t – value:1.717 P value: 0.1728 Critical t – value:1.682 P value: 0.045 Critical t – value: 1.69 P value: 0.021 Conclusion (reject or fail to reject H0) Fail to reject Reject Fail to Reject Table 2: Plant Seedling Data Analysis - Seedling weight. TEST 4 TEST 5 TREATMENT Barley Water Rye Water Barley no nitrogen Rye No nitrogen Sample Size (n) 12 12 24 24 Mean (x) 0.2167 0.1411 0.2358 0.1458 Standard Deviation (s) 0.048 0.0319 0.07017 0.0524 Variance (s2) 0.002515 0.00101 0.005138 0.00286 SEM (v s2 / n ) 0.014477 0.009174 0.01477 0.01092 Sample t Statistic Mean1 - Mean2 v SEM12 + SEM 22 1.424 2.191 Degrees of Freedom df = (n1 + n2) - 2 df = 22 df = 43 Critical t Statistic from t -Test Table for two-tail test and p-value Critical t – value:1.729 P value: 0.085 Critical t – value:1.681 P value: 0.02 Conclusion (reject or fail to reject H0) Fail to reject Reject. Table 3: Plant Seedling Data Analysis - Seedling weight TEST 6 TREATMENT Barley complete Rye complete Sample Size (n) 24 24 Mean (x) 0.2508 0.1542 Standard Deviation (s) 0.0603 0.05 Variance (s2) 0.0038 0.0026 SEM (v s2 / n ) 0.01258 0.01040 Sample t Statistic Mean1 - Mean2 v SEM12 + SEM 22 2.858 Degrees of Freedom df = (n1 + n2) - 2 df = 44 Critical t Statistic from t -Test Table for two-tail test and p-value Critical t – value: 1.680 P value: 0.0032 Conclusion (reject or fail to reject H0) Reject Graph 1: Mean shoot length in water, no nitrogen, and complete nutrients treatments. Graph 2: Seedling weight in water, no nitrogen, and complete nutrients treatments Discussion and conclusion. Graph 1 and 2 represent the mean weight and shoot length of the seedlings in different treatments along with their the standard error. As can be observed, in table 1, Increasing nutrients in plants does not significantly causes an increase in the rate of growth (P>0.05). On the other hand, the seedlings under water treatment significantly increases the water content in plants but does not significantly increase the growth of the seedling. This is reflected in both the seedling’s weight and shoot length (Askerlund 2). It is also evidence that lack of nitrogen significantly caused an increase in the amount of nitrogen and hence increased the rate of growth of the plants. It was also found that increasing nutrients does not significantly increase the growth of the plants. In this study, the pivotal functions played by the regulators and nutrients in the growth of plants are clearly highlighted. It has been shown that the nutrients content in plant will influence the growth of the plant especially the shoot length and the weight. In test 2 the absence of nitrogen reduced the growth rate of the seedlings (Bille 3). This means that the plant’s growth was affected by the nutrients and hormones interaction. This is evidenced when the shoot length of the seedlings responds negatively with no nitrogen. This means that enhancements like nitrogen will make the growth rate to increase. Research has shown out that different plants would respond positively to the exogenous growth substances application (Bradford 4). Work Cited. Askerlund, Evans. Reconstitution and characterization of a calmodulin-stimulated Ca2+-pumping ATPase purified from Brassica oleracea L. Plant Physiol. 2002; 100: 1670-1681. Bille, Bentrup. The lysolipid sphingosine modulates pyrophosphatase activity in tonoplast vesicles and isolated vacuoles from a heterotrophic cell suspension culture of Chenopodium rubrum. Physiol. Plant, 2004; 84: 250-254. Bradford, M. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal. Biochem,2005; 72: 248-254. Carystinos, Dhindsa. 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Inorganic pyrophosphate content and metabolites in leaves and tubers of potato and tobacco plants expressing E. coli pyrophosphatase in their cytosol: biochemical evidence that sucrose metabolism has been manipulated. Planta; 2004; 188: 238-244. Kasai, Matsumoto. Aluminum stress increases K+ efflux and activities of ATP- and PPr dependent H+ pumps of tonoplast-enriched membrane vesicles from barley roots. Plant Cell Physio, 2004; 33: 1035-1039. Read More