Effect of soaked seeds vs. non-soaked seeds on plant germination Derrick, Aaron, Alyshea

Research Question Which of the three seeds would germinate faster soaked or not soaked? Will it be the Alfalfa seeds? Corn May seeds? Or will it be the Ryegrass seeds?

Materials -Water -Corn Zea Mays Seeds -Alfalfa -Ryegrass Seeds -Seeds trays

Hypothesis If we soak the seeds in water they will germinate faster then the seeds that are not soaked in water.

Procedure 1)Soak alfalfa seeds for 5 to 10 hours. 2)Soak corn seeds for 10 to 15 hours 3)Soak rye seeds for 9 to 12 hours. 4)Obtain 6 sections of seed trays and label for each trial 5)Safely place seed tray onto a table. 6)Add 50 ml of soil to each tray. 7)Place 3 seeds (rye, alfalfa and corn) into the 4 trays. 8)Water seeds with 25 ml of water daily 9)Keep seed trays in the same location to keep temperature and sunlight consistent 10)Collect data daily on germination rates on a graph

Soak Seeds (Qualitative data) DaysCornAlfalfaRye grass Day 1No germination Day 2No germinationGermination Some germination Day 3Plant growth Day 4 Lots of plants growth Lots of plant growth Day 5 More plant growth Day 6More plant growth

Non-Soaked Seeds ( Qualitative data ) DaysCornAlfalfaRye grass Day 1No growth Day 2Some germinationNo growthSome germination Day 3Some plant growthPlant growth Day 4Some plant growthPlant growth Day 5Some plant growthPlant growth Day 6Plants still aren’t growing as fast as soaked corn seeds More plant growth

Results The original purpose of this experiment was to determine which seed would germinate faster, soaked or not soaked. The results of the experiment were that the Ryegrass seeds actually grew faster when soaked or not soaked. It took a matter of 3 days for the Ryegrass seeds to germinate and grow, soaked or not soaked. We also found out that Corn Mays seeds cannot really grow without being soaked in water. This answered my hypothesis and we were partially incorrect.

Conclusion My hypothesis stated that if the seeds are soaked in water they’ll grow faster than not soaked seeds. The results indicate that my hypothesis was correct. Although the Corn may seeds ( not soaked ) did not grow as expected our other two seeds Alfalfa and Ryegrass actually grew soaked or not soaked. This shows that some seeds do not need to be soaked or not soaked to grow or germinate. Researchers say for some types of seeds they actually contain germination inhibitors that are designed to prevent a seed from germination. This inhibitors must be leached away before a seed can germinate. This process can take some time. This explains why our Corn may seeds are taking longer to grow and germinate than the other seeds.

Further Questions -If we did our experiment any longer would our Corn may seeds have germinated? -What would happen if we added fertilizer to the our seeds? -Why did some of our not soaked Corn may seeds grow but some did not? -How long would it actually take for a seed to germinate?

References Anon “Seed Germination Terms: What Is The Best Way To Germinate Seeds.” Gardening Know How. Retrieved March 22, 2016 ( germination-terms.htm).