Wheat seed germination in fertilizer solutions

Introduction

As a way of understanding the scientific method, we were tasked with creating

and conducting an experiment into the germination rate of wheat seeds exposed to
fertilizer. The idea is that if a little bit of 1% concentration Miracle Grow will help seeds
germinate, than a 10% solution of the same must be all that much better.
The first thing that we have to understand is how wheat seeds germinate at all. A
wheat seed has a hard outer shell, as well as a meaty inside, where it's food stores and
first root are stored. When it is just wet enough outside it then germinates, sending it's
now growing first root out a hole in the seed. If it is too wet, the seed rots; if it is too dry,
the seed tries to germinate but it's root dries up and it dies.
Next we need to understand how fertilizer works. Fertilizer is most often a
mixture of nitrogen salts in a water solution. In normal fertilization, when a small amount
of the nitrogen salts is introduced into a plant, all the salts are absorbed into the plant
through chemiosmosis, which then draws more water into the plant cells because of
hypotonicity. However, if you introduce too much nitrogen salt into the plant, the cells
can't absorb all the salts through chemisomosis. If enough fertilizer is added, it results in
the opposite effect, making the cell hypertonic, which means water is actually drawn out
of the cell through the same mechanism it was drawn in by under normal
circumstances.
This experiment is important because it is an attempt to pin down just how much
fertilizer is enough, and more importantly, how much is too much. My hypothesis is that
if 1% and 10% fertilizer solutions are applied to wheat seeds, that more of the seeds
treated with the 1% solution will germinate than seeds treated with 10% solution.

Materials

2x clean petri dish

30x wheat seed
16x paper towel
1x 1% miracle grow solution
1x 10% miracle grow solution
1x magic marker
1x grid paper

Methods

1. Two clean petri dishes acquired.

2. On paper towel, the petri dish was traced with a magic marker and 16 sheets of
circular paper towel substrate was yielded.
3. On two sheets of substrate a .6 cm^2 grid was drawn.
4. Four layers of substrate were placed in two petri dishes, with the topmost being the
gridded substrate.
5. Fifteen seeds were placed in each of the two petri dish's grids.
6. Four additional layers of substrate were placed on top of the seeds.
7. To one petri dish there was added an amount of 1% miracle grow solution in water
such that the substrate could not readily absorb any more.
8. The 1% solution petri dish substrate was then tamped down to assure there were no
gaps in the substrate.
9. Immediately the 1% solution petri dish was lidded and labeled.
10. To the other petri dish there was added an amount of 10% miracle grow solution in
water such that the substrate could not readily absorb any more.
11. The 10% solution petri dish substrate was then tamped down to assure there were
no gaps in the substrate.
12. Immediately the 10% solution petri dish was lidded and labeled.
13. At no point were the petri dishes separated significantly.
14. Both petri dishes were transported together to a dark storage area with a constant
temperature of 22.5 degrees Celsius.
15. At twelve hour intervals the petri dishes were opened for approximately one minute
each, for observation. The dishes were then placed back in dark storage.

Results

Observations
Time 1% Fertilizer Solution
10% Fertilizer Solution
No change from initial No change from initial
T+12 hrs.
conditions conditions
seeds appear to be No change from initial
T+24 hrs.
lighter in color conditions
Same color as
previously observed, No change from initial
T+36 hrs.
seeds appear to be conditions
swelling.
Some sprouts are
observed, while the rest
of the seeds which
haven't sprouted still
No change from initial
T+48 hrs appear swollen and
conditions
lighter than they
originally were. 12/15
seeds are germinated at
this point.
T+56 hrs. Sprouts which had No change from initial
 already developed show
at least a two fold
increase in size. All conditions
seeds in this sample are
now germinated.

Discussion

In the end we saw no germination in the 10% fertilizer solution group of seeds,
and full germination in the 1% solution. This is indicatory of the fertilizer's mechanism of
action, and what happens when seeds are exposed to too much fertilizer. Specifically, I
think it is significant that I observed no swelling in the 10% solution. That observation, to
me, confirmed that the 10% solution seed cells were indeed hypertonic, and that they
were not absorbing water, and could be losing a small amount. Also, it is in direct
conflict with how the control behaved, which would indicate an opposite action. Overall,
I think we only see a confirmation of suspicions and direction for further
experimentation. We now know that in further experimentation when trying to find the
maximum effective dosage of fertilizer that a factor of ten is too large of an increase.