Click to edit project
Click to edit project description www.crestawards.org
Page 1 of 2 How do nutrients affect plant growth? In this project you will investigate how the nutrients in compost affect the rate of growth of seedlings. Many types of seed will work, but radish or lettuces are often chosen because they grow quickly. Getting started Despite the high rate of growth in rainforests the soil is poor in nutrients. The nutrients have been washed out of the soils by heavy rainfall. Plant your seeds in seed trays (following the instructions on the packet), water them, and place them in a well- lit location. You can help the seedlings to grow by using a propagator lid to maintain humidity. Alternatively, you could use makeshift propagators such as a simple polythene bag inflated around the seed tray or a plastic bottle cut in half to provide a close-fitting lid. You need to make sure that the soil/compost in the seed trays remains moist – trays without covers will need regular watering. Remember that you want your tests to be fair so make sure all your seeds are in the same conditions of light, temperature moisture etc. Things to think about Did the results agree with what you expected? Was there a pattern to your results? Were your results consistent enough for you to be able to make a conclusion? Which of the different ways of measuring plant growth do you think was the most suitable? Why? Useful resources Talk to a person at your local garden centre about the right type of seed to use for this experiment Keep a daily record of the number of seeds that have germinated, plant growth, and observations about plant health such as colour, height etc. You will need to decide what measurements to use as indicators of plant growth, for example, plant height or number and size of leaves. You will need to make your measurements daily for about three to four weeks. Click to edit project description Presentation of results: Choose at least two of your indicators of plant growth to plot as graphs to show how the different combinations of compost and soil affect plant growth. You will need to comment on your results.
