Effects of Gravel on Brassica rapa Authors' Names Redacted
Abstract Brassica rapa was grown in two different groups; the control group was set up using the standard Wisconsin Fast Plant Growth instructions while the experimental group had an addition of Sunniland Sunscape Gravel added to it. The experiment lasted six weeks and measurements were taken once a week; measuring the length of the stem. Several other factors were observed such as flower and leaf counts in order to test the hypothesis; that the addition of Sunniland Sunscape increased the growth of the plants. The main goal of the experiment was to test whether or not the addition of gravel had effects on the growth in Brassica rapa. After collecting all the data composed throughout the six weeks we observed that the plants grown with the addition of Sunniland Sunscape grew more than the plants which contained no additional gravel. Introduction In observing the use of gravel in a garden the question arose; Does Sunniland Sunscapes Pea Gravel assists in the overall growth of the plants it is used on? When planting a garden, many methods of growth are used such as applying fertilizer or gravel. Mulch, soil, fertilizer and gravel are commonly used to help plants flourish. Specifically looking at the gravel, companies advertise to be great for flower beds... (http://www.sunnilandcorp.com/lawngarden/landscaperock). But what does the gravel do to help the plans grow? As defined, gravel is loose, rounded fragments of rock. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravel. Gravel ). When applied to soil, rocks prevent erosion and keep soil at an optimum temperature for growth by conserving moisture. As a group we hypothesized that Sunniland Sunscape Gravel is beneficial to the growth of plants. The hypotheses established then, lead us to our prediction which stated that plants grown with Sunniland Sunscape Pea Gravel will flourish more than plants grown in regular soil. We
decided to keep things simple in respects to the number of gravel we used in the experimental group, which is why Sunniland Sunscape Pea Gravel was the only kind that was used. Materials and Methods The plants were grown in two groups of sixteen (16) fast plants; totaling thirty-two (32) plants. The control group soil and the experimental group had gravel added to the soil around the plants. Both groups followed the same Wisconsin Fast Plant procedure in all other respects. The plants were watered Monday through Friday. In order to prevent the plants from dying, we watered the plants twice the amount Friday s and Monday s. The reservoir was checked daily and added water as needed. After one week we transplanted some plants into quads and place them into quads which did not have any plants in them, and thinned the rest so they all had one plant. Results We measured the length of the stems and based on the data we collected before transplanting, we discovered that some plants were bigger than others; primarily in the experimental group. Table 1: Average height of group I (control) and group II (gravel) in cm. Control Group (avg. height) Plants with Gravel ( avg. height) Week 1-10/19/11 2.00 cm 2.20 cm Week 2 10/26/11 5.95 cm 5.82 cm Week 3 11/02/11 8.62 cm 9.10 cm Week 4 11/09/11 8.94 cm 9.27 cm Week 5 11/16/11 8.94 cm 9.52 cm Week 6 11/23/11 9.23 cm 9.86 cm Graph
Height (cm) 12 10 Growth of Brassica rapa 8 6 cntrl 4 gravel 2 0 0 2 4 6 8 Time (weeks) Discussion/ Conclusion The plants with gravel flourished more than the plants without it. More plants germinated in the experimental group than the control group (17 plants present in gravel group and 14 plants present in control group). Although 17 plants compared to 14 is not a significance difference but it is valid data which supports our hypothesis. The second outcome was that the plants without gravel grew bigger than the gravel plants. The tallest plant in the experiment was from the control group but the experimental group had two plants that were tall but not as tall as the one in the control group. From the hypothesis we made; growth was the main concept we focused on. From the data collected the experimental gravel group grew more on average than the control group which contained only soil. There were several factors that could have affected the growth of Brassica rapa plants such as the lack of water throughout the experiment. There were some days when the plants did not get watered and it became evident that the flowers were beginning to wither. Another factor that could have altered the experiment was trans-planting the control group. Most of the plants germinated in the gravel group but we had to trans-plant several plants in control group. Some of
the plants grew normally while some of them died or never grew at all. Based on the data collected and the observations made throughout the experiment; the hypothesis resulted to be true.
References http://www.sunnilandcorp.com/lawn-garden/landscaperock. Sunscapes Rock. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravel. Gravel. Campbell, Neil A., et al. Biology. 9 th.san Francisco, CA: Pearson Education Inc., 2009. Wisconsin Fast Plants Growing Instructions. North Caroline: Carolina Biological Supply Company, 2001. Print.