Buckwheat S eed Germination and Growth Using Sucrose Solutions

1. Buckwheat Seed Germination and Growth Using Sucrose Solutions By: Jasmine Yaghutiel, Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert, Niya Paul, and Katie Failner

2. Introduction • Buckwheat is a fast growing plant and starts to produce seeds at around six weeks after being planted. The seeds ripen about five weeks after the seeds themselves are formed. They commonly grow 30 to 50 inches tall. Buckwheat is used for food, beer, medicine and upholstery filling. • Sugar is a carbohydrate that in some cases has been shown to be able to speed up processes which is why we hypothesized that the sucrose solution would be able to speed up both the growth and germination of the buckwheat seed.

3. Purpose • The purpose of this lab is to view the different growth rates of the buckwheat seeds using normal water and sucrose solutions with different concentrations and to conclude which liquid used to water the seeds works the best.

4. Hypothesis • If a sugar water solution is used opposed to just normal water to water a buckwheat seed, then the seed will germinate and grow at a faster rate.

5. Materials • Sugar • Water • 30 buckwheat seeds • Soil • 3 plastic cups • Source of light • Electronic scale • Ruler • Graduated cylinder • Beakers • Tape

6. Procedure • Step 1: Put the soil (200 mL) in each of the three cups • Step 2: Label the pots (normal water, 1% sucrose solution, 3% sucrose solution) • Step 3: Implant 10 buckwheat seeds in each cup (plant the seeds about 3 mm under the dirt) • Step 4: Make two sucrose solutions (1 gram of sugar per 100 mL of water for the 1% sucrose solution and 3 grams of sugar per 100 mL of water for the 3% sucrose solution) • Step 5: Water each of the implanted seeds with it’s corresponding sucrose solution to the labels on the cups (50 mL for each liquid) • Step 6: Continue watering the plants as necessary (only if the dirt becomes dry) • Step 7: Place all the plants in a place with direct sunlight • Step 8 : Record the heights and take note of any changes in growth

7. Observations and Data 2 daysafter the seeds were planted • The 1% sucrose solution had one sprout, a small white stem is peeking out of the dirt also • The regular water has 4 stems peaking out of the dirt (all are green) • The 3% solution has no sprouts 3 days after the seeds were planted • The 1% sucrose solution has four sprouts, the tallest sprout is 5 mm tall • The regular water has five sprouts still resting on the dirt, root hairs can be seen on two of the sprouts • The 3% sucrose solution still has no sprouts 15 days after the seeds were planted • The 1% sucrose solution has 6 saplings of various size (ranging from 13mm to 71 mm) • The regular water has 8 rather tall saplings (ranging from 103 mm to 191 mm) • The 3% sucrose solution has two sapling which are close to the same height (83 mm and 91 mm)

8. Data Table (Day 15) • The average height of… • Plants watered with normal water: 144.25 millimeters • Plants watered with 1% sucrose solution: 37.17 millimeters • Plants watered with 3% sucrose solution: 87 millimeters

9. Final Height of Buckwheat Seeds on the 15thDay (Sucrose Solution vs. Normal Water) Millimeters

10. Discussion • This experiment was successful because enough data was collected to make some conclusions about our hypothesis. As the data shows the hypothesis that we created was wrong. The sugar did not in fact make the buckwheat seeds germinate and grow faster, but it was concluded from this experiment that the sucrose in the water actually slowed down the growth and development of the plant. • The hypothesis was proven wrong because the data shows that the normal water not only produced the most amount of sprouted seeds but also the tallest plants. The 1% sucrose solution produced less than the normal water but more than the 3% sucrose solution. But what was interesting about the 1% sucrose solution is that it produced the lowest average for height of the plants although it produced more sprouts than the 3% and almost as many as the normal water. This shows that it is not definite that the sugar decreases growth rate but we can conclude from this set of data that the sucrose solution does have an affect on the sprouting of the seeds and it does not produce as many sprouts as normal water. • There were a few variables which were identified in this experiment in order to make it successful. The control group of this experiment was the plant that was watered with the normal water. Some of the controlled variables were; type of seed, amount of soil, how often they were watered, sunlight, amount of water to water the plants with, etc. The independent variable in this experiment was the sugar concentration. The dependent variable was the plant/seed growth and germination. These variables made it possible for this experiment to take place and to be successful. • Although this experiment was successful, there were still many extraneous variables that could have changed the results of our experiment. One example of an extraneous variable in our experiment was how tightly the dirt was packed into the cup. If one cup of dirt was packed tighter than the other it could effect the amount of oxygen that would reach the seed and therefore potentially change the results. Another extraneous variable that we experienced was the use of a cup instead of a normal pot. The cup did not have any holes in the bottom which could have increased the risk of drowning out the plant by overwatering it. This experiment could be improved in the future by using a pot that has holes in the bottom to reduce the risk of drowning the seeds and to make sure that the dirt is not packed in before you plant the buckwheat seeds. Although there were quite a few extraneous variables this experiment was successful overall because we were able to make conclusion (but not definite conclusions) about the affect of sucrose on the speed of growth and germination of buckwheat seeds.