Optimal pH Levels for Radish Seed Germination
Question
Do radish seeds germinate best in neutral, acidic or alkaline solutions?
Introduction
Germination is the reestablishment of metabolic processes in a seed after a period of dormancy. The germination process varies for different seed varieties. Generally, germination begins when water causes the outer covering of the seed to loosen. The uptake of water by the seed triggers the release of hormones needed for respiration, protein synthesis, and the activation and production of the digestive enzymes needed to hydrolyze the nutrients stored in the seed (Lockwood & Hartman, 2009). These nutrients are consumed as a seed 's embryotic cells elongate and increase in size to form a radicle (root) and plummule (first shoot). The emergence of a radicle from the seed case signals that germination is complete (Finkelstien & Lynch, 2000).
There are four main external factors that aid the germination process: water, oxygen, light, and temperature. Germination cannot occur in most mature seeds without water, which is essential in restoring the metabolic processes of dormant seeds. Under watering or overwatering can be detrimental to seed germination as well the pH level of the water. When a seed coat splits, seed respiration switches from anaerobic to aerobic (Lockwood & Hartman,
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According to the University of Vermont extension professor, Leonard Perry, radish seeds thrive best in soil that have a pH range of 6.0 to 7.0, which falls in the neutral to slightly acidic range (Perry, 2003). The Ohio State University Extension states that radishes grow best in mineral soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8, but when planted in muck soil (fertilized with manure) a pH of 5.2 to 5.6 is preferred (Corrigan, ng). A slightly acidic pH was hypothesized because the seeds were not being tested in soil and a pH of 6.1 is mid range between 5.2 and
Figure 1 indicates an increasing mortality rate (positive slope) in plants as density increases; Figure 2 shows the corresponding germination rate reflecting the exact opposite trend. Mortality remains zero until 8 seeds are planted (6% mortality), then is reduced to zero at 16 seeds then increases to 14 percent (32 seeds), 32 percent (64 seeds), and more than half (57 %--128 seeds).
The germinating seeds consumed almost no oxygen throughout the experiment in the 10-degree C water bath. I think that this is because when an organism cools down, all of its cellular functions slow down.
technology. When they wanted to plant or to crush the seeds that they have gathered they used a
The life cycle of a pecan tree has four main components: germination, rooting, sprouting and lifespan and reproduction. The many different elements of the pecan tree life cycle contribute to the growth and development of the pecan trees we see today. The life cycle of a pecan tree has many different elements. The cycle begins with the spreading and germination of seeds. Mature pecan trees produce and drop thousands of seeds to the ground during the fall season. Dispersal of these seeds may be through the water, wind or animals but wind will end up pollinating the seeds. Pecan tree seeds lay dormant throughout the winter and will begin the growth process in the spring. The seeds require an adequate amount of warmth and rain throughout the winter and early spring months. Once the germination process has finished, the seed...
Seedfolks is a book about family. One day, a little Vietnamese girl named Kim plants some lima beans in a vacant lot in Cleveland to honor her father who was a farmer. A neighbor notices and decides to plant her own plants. Soon, more neighbors notice and do the same. Soon, the vacant lot turns into a community garden. The people of Cleveland have to avoid their differences and come together as a family to make it successful. The book Seedfolks implies that family is the true source of love because almost everybody in the book does something to express their love through the garden. The garden becomes somewhat like a family, and brings the community together.
“Al Condraj sat on the bench he had made and smelled the parsley garden and didn’t feel humiliated anymore. But nothing could stop him from hating the two men, even though he knew they hadn’t done anything they shouldn’t have done.” (The Parsley Garden, Junior Great Books, Series 6, pg.42)
The opening and closing of stomata is one example of this movement. There are a large amount of growth conditions that can affect a plant. One of the most important of these conditions concerns the type of availability of light present for photosynthesis. By controlling the type of light that a plant receives, its growth can be affected.
Seed, a book by Lisa Heathfield, applies the idea that knowledge is power, but ignorance is bliss through the character development of Pearl, the deep descriptions of the settings and ambiguity of Pearl’s knowledge on certain scenes. Seed’s narrative quality explores that knowledge does not always make one influential, however, not acquiring knowledge means not feeling conflicted.
Asexual propagation is the process through which reproduction without passage through the seed cycle occurs. The advantages of asexual propagation are that it preserves genetic makeup, propagates seedless plants, disease control, rapid production, the plants are identical, cheaper, faster and easier reducing or avoiding juvenility. The disadvantages of asexual propagation are that it increases disease and insect susceptibility, plants are bulky, and the mother plants could become contaminated. The goal of this experiment was to determine the development of adventitious roots and shoots, and observe these plants over a period of five weeks. Due to auxin being produced in the tip, tip cuttings should root faster than any other cuttings. Auxin is a plant hormone that is responsible for cell elongation and enlargement, root formation, and growth. There are two forms of auxins; phototropism, which is produced in the tip and moves downward on the side away from the light and gravitropism, which is where plant roots grow downward and plant shoots grow upward.(Plant Auxin 201...
Pod size ranges from 15-30 mm in length, 7-14 mm in thickness, and 2-15 mm in width. Depending on the basal and apical zones as well as the dorsal and ventral regions, pod shape varies from rhomboid, oblong to ovate. The number of seeds per pod ranges from 1-2, with the maximum being three. The seeds are ramhead or owl's-head shaped, and the surface may be smooth or wrinkled. The length of the seed ranges from 4-12 mm and its width from 4-8 mm. The seed mass varies from 0.10 to 0.75 g per seed. The seeds of kabuli type are large (100 seed mass >25 g), round or ram head, and cream colored. The plant is medium to tall in height, with large leaflets and white flowers, and contains no anthocyanin, whereas the seeds of the desi type are small and angular in shape. The seed color varies from cream, black, brown, yellow to green. There are 2-3 ovules per pod but on an average 1-2 seeds per pod are produced. Chickpea seeds germinate at an optimum temperature (28-33°C) and moisture level in about 5-6 days. Germination begins with absorption of moisture and swelling of the seed. The radicle emerges first followed by the plumule.
Seeds can move in many different in which some are by water, animals, and wind. The most easiest to conduct would be the wind and that is why we are using wind as the type of dispersal for the seed. In animals, seeds can be dispersed by barbs or other structures that can get tangled in the animal fur and the animals take the seed some other place until the seed gets untangled. Another way the animals can disperse seeds is when the seeds is digested and dropped through the anal after digesting the seed. Some animals bury seeds in the ground. Examples of these animals that do these type of seed dispersing include squirrels, birds, snails, and catfish. Water can disperse seeds by
Fertilization (conception) is the moment in which the sperm cell enters the oocyte and merges with it. From this moment, the cell division begins: at each division the number of cells is doubled in the fertilized egg. About two days after fertilization, the fertilized egg migrates the remaining way of the fallopian tube down to the uterus, where the implantation takes place. So that it can even come to the fertilization, some conditions are necessary, which will all together lead to the sperm and egg cell coming together. This is how fertilization works: After ovulation, the ovum migrates in the fallopian tube towards the uterus. In the next twelve to 24 hours she is fertile. The sperm arriving at the ovum try to drill through its shell. Fertilization
Tomatoes prefer a slightly acidic soil and will grow well in a pH of 5.5 – 6.8
Seed dispersal is the transport or movement of seeds away from the parent plant in order to help prevent the overcrowding (if this happens plants would not have enough food and light to survive in the area) and help to create new colonies. Thus giving the seed the best chance to germinate in a new location away from the parent plant and hopefully start new colonies. Due to the fact plants have limited mobility they rely on a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds via abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) vectors. There are five main methods of seed dispersal, animals, gravity, wind, ballistic and water (1). Fire is also another way for seeds to be dispersed but is not as common as the other methods.