EFFECTS OF SMOKE TREATMENT ON THE SEED GERMINATION OF Zea mays AND Oryza sativa

Introduction Forest fires are very common in hot and humid climates. They disrupt the ecological balance as they wipe out the plant species in a particular area. However, forest fires also create an opportunity for new plants to thrive where the fire has struck. Some species that do take advantage of the fire were observed to have seeds which germinate faster in the aftermath of such an event. This phenomenon has been greatly studied in countries where forest fires often occur. Brown et al (2003) have extensively experimented on the effects of smoke on the seed germination of various South African fauna. Auld and Tozer (1995) studied the emergence of Acacia and Grevillea seedlings after a forest fire in Australia. Due to the humid conditions in a tropical country, forest fires are far less common in the Philippines. Hence, there is no local literature for the effect of fire on plant growth and development. Research on fire ecology is therefore a novel topic in our country and could prove to be beneficial to Philippine agriculture. If local crops respond to fire or in this particular case, smoke derivatives, the same way as other foreign plant species, then it may be used to provide a means of controlling plant germination times. Farmers could potentially use the vegetation left after harvesting to induce faster germination of new crops. Hypothesis The group hypothesize that if the seeds are germinated in water treated with smoke from burned grass then, the seeds will germinate at a faster rate. However, the group also believes that if the seeds are treated with a high concentration of smoke derivatives, it will have negative effects on the germination of the seeds. Objectives 1. To observe the effects of smoke from burnt vegetation on the germination of seeds. 2. To compare the rates of germination between smoke treated seeds and non-treated seeds 3. To determine if smoke from burnt vegetation induces faster seed germination 4. To observe the effect of varying concentrations of smoke from burnt vegetation on the germination of seeds. 5. To ascertain if high concentrations of smoke in water have an inhibitory effect on seed germination

Materials Zea mays seeds

Oryza sativa seeds Filter paper Distilled water Dry grass Petri dishes Water smoking apparatus Method 1. Burning dry grass in a covered glass jar will generate the smoke that will be used in the experiment. The smoke will then be transported to a narrow plastic container containing 50 mL distilled water via rubber tubing (fig 1) for 2 hours.

2. The seeds will be germinated on filter paper treated with smoke water. Two species will be used for this study: Zea mays and Oryza sativa. Each species will have three set-ups (A, B, C) with 3 replicates. Set- ups A and B will have different concentrations of smoke extract. A control group C will be set up with distilled water. 3. The seeds will be monitored for two weeks. The germination of A and B will be observed and compared with that of the control group to determine the effect of smoke extracts on germination. The results will then be analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Auld, T., and Tozer, M. (1995). Patterns in emergence of Acacia and Grevillea seedlings after fire. Proceedings of the Linnean society of NSW, 115, 5 - 15. Brown, N.A.C., Van Staden, J., Johnson, T. and Daws, M.I. (2003b) A summary of patterns in the seed germination response to smoke in plants from the Cape Floral Region. In: Seed Conservation: Turning Science into Practice . Smith et al. (eds). RBG Kew, pp. 563-574. Dixon, K. W., S. Roche, and J. S. Pate. 1995. The promotive effect of smoke derived from burnt native vegetation on seed germination of Western Australian plants. Oecologia 101:185-192. Flematti, G. R., D. J. Merritt, M. J. Piggott, R. D. Trengove, S. M. Smith, K. W. Dixon, and E. L. Ghisalberti. 2011. Burning vegetation produces cyanohydrins that liberate cyanide and stimulate seed germination. Nature Comm. 2:360.