FIFTH LAB REPORT : OVERALL REPORT SUMMARY (COTTON TO MAIZE GROUP)

OVERALL SUMMARY REPORT ON MAIZE PLANT (COTTON TO MAIZE GROUP)

MEMBERS :

No.	Name	Matric Number
1	Shemaiah Marie Mojuntin	BS17110042
2	Puteri Nur Sabrina Binti Ruslan	BS17110407
3	Lee Yoong Zhan	BS17160650
4	Dphne Rachel Marius	BS17110612
5	Afifah Ghazali	BS17160697
6	Wangliying	BS17270767

INTRODUCTION

Plants are just like us human needs oxygen, food and water to survive and in order to grow. Plants need sufficient nutrients, water, air, sunlight and space for them to grow in ideal condition as well. Plants are living organisms which play a major role towards the environment and life itself. However, there are many factors affecting the plant growth reducing their ability to grow at its highest potential which are Light intensity, Soil composition, soil nutrient, soil moisture, soil texture, soil pH, the space in between soil particles, temperature, humidity of the air and climate change.

Light is one of the strongest factors affecting the plant growth, aside from nutrients and water. Light is most essential when growing a plant. The amount of light received determine how much energy the plant can receive and use it as the energy source to photosynthesis. Photosynthesis mainly permits plants to combine glucose form water and carbon dioxide while releasing oxygen and produces food for the plant. Other plant process that are enhanced or inhibited by this factor include stomata movement, phototropism, photo morphogenesis, translocation, mineral absorption and abscission. (Devlin, 1975; Edmond et. al, 1978)  Light is indeed very essential to plants but not seed- it can germinate without the light. Hence we can conclude that light is required by all the plants to conduct photosynthesis to make use and develop nutrients and without it they cannot survive to reach its full potential of lifespan. (Rose E. Koning, 1994).

Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of a substance is called temperature. (Eagleman, 1958).  Temperature is also another limiting factor as the fluctuation of temperature will affect the photosynthesis, breaking of seed dormancy, seed germination, protein synthesis, respiration, transpiration, soil moisture, soil pH and as well as soil nutrients. An optimum temperature range would be 16 Celsius to 32 Celsius. Excessively low temperatures can also cause limiting effects on plant growth and development. For example, water absorption is inhibited when the soil temperature is low- water is more vacuous at low temperature as it is less mobile. At temperature below the freezing point of water, there is change in the form of water from liquid to solid. The expansion of water in the living cells causes the cell wall to rupture. (Devlin, 1975).

Soil aeration and soil texture affect the plant growth very much as well. Compact soils of high bulk density, poor structure, and clay texture soil are aerated poorly, making the plant difficult to grow or growing very slowly. Pore space is occupied by air and water so the amount of air and water are inversely proportional to the amount of oxygen in the soil. For air, with not having enough would result in the plant not having balance of air supply for its growth since it would be using the air up quicker. On well drained soils, oxygen content is not likely to be a limiting factor for plant growth whereas for compacted soils, the soil is poorly aerated, water flow is limited, oxygen content will be limited and as the roots of the roots of the plant could not penetrate the soil texture which makes them unable to lengthen their roots for water source. Having not enough water in the soil could result in the plant not being able to grow at its proper functioning. If there is too much water, not all nutrients are designated for the plant growth would be absorbed into the soil correctly, and would lead to leaching with the extra water in the soil. Excess water within the plant can also cause injury (Edmon, et. al, 1978) explained that under conditions that favour high absorption and low transpiration rates, there is build-up of high turgor pressure in the region of cell elongation which causes maximum swelling of the cells resulting development of leggy seedlings which will affect the plant growth. Overly compacted soil is a limiting factor to plant growth.  Soil texture affects how well nutrients and water are retained in the soil. The type of soil used for plant growth determined how easily the plant can access its required nutrients. Soil types are determined by particle texture and density. Plant growth will depend on the soil’s ability to deliver its required materials.

Essential plant nutrients are elements that are needed for higher plants to complete all life functions and the deficiency can be corrected only by adding fertilizers or other application of the specific element causing the deficiency. Healthy growing plants require sufficient amounts of 14 essential nutrient elements and an addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which can be found in the basis of all organic compounds. All of these are required to ensure the growth of the plant and the ability for the fruits of the plant to ripen and of course preventing the plants form dying from insufficient of nutrients. These essential elements are divided into macronutrients which are required in larger quantities because of their structural roles in the plant and micronutrients which are required in smaller quantities because they tend to be involved in regulatory roles in the plant.  Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are the primary macronutrients, and the ones most often in short supply in soils. The elements N, P and K are therefore the most likely to require replenishment in the form of applied fertilizer. Deficiencies of the secondary macronutrients—calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulphur (S)—are less commonly encountered. The micronutrients required are iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), boron (B), chlorine (Cl) and nickel (Ni); but in practice the main micronutrient deficiencies that concern us with crops are iron and manganese. Any of the above essential elements may also be present in excessive amounts, which can result in toxic effects, for example, B and Mn. Other elements or groups of elements like sodium, bicarbonate may also contribute to the toxic effects seen, for example, in saline or sodic soils. Sodium (Na) has been demonstrated to be an essential element for some plants with a special photosynthetic pathway, but in practice problems result from excessive amounts of Na, not deficiency.

OBJECTIVES

1.   To observe the plant growth in different types of soil.

2.   To determine the factors affecting the plant growth.

3.   To determine the suitability of the soil for Maize plant.

PROBLEM STATEMENTS

Maize plants needs suitable soil to grow. With the presence of uncountable different types of soil it seems hard to find the best soil for Maize plants to grow. The soil type is not only the problem for looking for the right condition for Maize seeds to germinate and grow but also other conditions like soil factors such as the pH of the soil, moisture content, nutrient availability found in the soil, the soil’s water holding capacity, the soil’s texture and size, salinity, and permeability of soil.

APPARATUS AND MATERIALS

Maize seeds, Ruler, five different soil types, water, spatula, glass jars, measuring cup, masking tape and pen, tablespoon, Munsell Colour Chart, spray bottles, containers, oven, analytical balance, filter paper, filter funnel, beaker, glass rod, glass tube, dropper, universal indicator solution, pH meter, tin box, portable moisture meter, small plastic rods, electronic balance, plastic containers, graduated cylinders, funnels, test tubes, test tube rack, stopwatch, filter paper, sampling bottles, Parafilm M moisture proof sealing, scissors, NitraVer^® 5 Nitrate Reagent Powder Pillow, SulfaVer^® 4 Reagent Powder Pillow and PhosVer^® 3 Phosphate Reagent Powder Pillow, Spectrophotometer, square glass, stack of sieves including pan and cover, mechanical sieve shaker, brush, pestle and mortar, tray.

PROCEDURE

1. Five pots were filled with maize plant seeds with each pot having different types of soil.

2. The soil was patted to compress the soil so that the level of soil does not shrink after watering.

3. Number of plant maize seeds were equally distributed for each pot and spaced the seed when seed sowing.

4. 2cm thick of the soils were toped after the seed were placed on the soil and then watered with the same amount of water for each pot.

5. The seeds and soils were observed for five weeks in terms of Soil Color Analysis,Soil Textures Test, Soil Moisture, Soil pH, Soil Water Holding Capacity, Soil Permeability, Soil Salinity, Soil Nutrient Analysis Test, and Sieve Analysis.

6. Observations were also done for germination rate for each pot, mortality/survival rate of the plant growth, average growth of the plants for each soil texture, nutrient availability of each soil sample, and deficiency symptoms.

RESULTS

WEEKLY OBSERVATIONS RECORDS

A)   Chronology

On 5th of March, we were given a total of 63 cotton seeds to plant in a 5 different types of soil. The types of soil were taken in 5 different places, the first type of soil was taken at Outdoor Development Centre (ODEC), where the soil is categorised as sandy loam soil. The next soil was taken from a lake near with Kolej Kediaman Excellent, which is categorised as clay soil. Another type of soil was taken from a lake near with Faculty Science and Natural Resources which also known as FSSA, the soil is categorised as clay loam soil. Another type of soil is the garden soil, its soil texture is determined as loamy sand soil. The fifth and the last type of soil was mangrove soil taken at Alam Mesra. Its soil texture is silty clay loam soil. All the soil texture was determined by two methods which are soil texture by feel and soil texture by jar test. The final result that was used was the soil texture by feel method.

          The cotton seed growth was stunted as it shows little signs of growth after three weeks due to many factors especially nutrient deficiencies, too much of water, hot weather factor and compactness of the soil. Hence, on 27th of March we have replaced it with maize seeds. Each of the soil was tillage manually by using trowel to a depth of 6 centimetres. 12 seeds were sowed per pot about 1.5 centimetres and soil was added on top of the seeds. The weekly timeline growth for maize seeds is shown as below:

Week 1 (2 April - 8 April 2018)

The plants was watered every day during the first week. Based from the results above, it shows that it only takes 5 to 8 days for the corn seeds to germinate for sandy loam soil, clay loam soil, loamy sand soil and clay soil. However, for silty clay loam soil, there is only one seed is germinating. It might be because the soil is too compact and hard, so the shoots cannot emerge upwards smoothly.

                                                

Week 2 (9 April - 11 April 2018)

On the second week, the maize plants is watered in alternating days instead. As it can be observed in the picture above, the progress is obviously seen. The height of the maize increases drastically on the second week.  Another two maize seeds also have germinated on the silty clay loam soil which makes it three maize seeds in total. This proved that too much water is also not good for plants growth since it will compacted the soil which can makes it hard for the plant to shoot upwards.

Week 3 (12- 15 April 2018)

On the second of the half week, the maize plants is watered in alternating days also. As it can observed from picture above, the height of the maize increases for a few centimetres. For silty clay loam, another maize seeds have started to grow which makes it four plants on the pots. From the colour of the leaves, the maize plants in loamy sand looks the healthiest compare to the rest of the plants in other pots. The leaves on other plants especially in sandy loam soil shows symptoms of nutrient deficiency since the green colour have started to fade away.

Week 4- (16 April - 22 April 2018)

By the third and last week, it can be seen clearly that the loamy sand plants is the highest among all. Besides that, the plants in sandy loam sand especially its leaves have turned to light green and some are yellowish purple. This might be due to phosphorus and nitrogen deficiency. This can also be seen on silty clay loam plants. The other plants leaves are still green despite the slow progress.

B)   Germination Rate

The germination rate of the maize plant in different types of soil.

Soil Texture	Germination rate
Clay	× 100% = 66.7%
Loamy Sand	× 100% = 66.7%
Clay Loam	× 100% = 33.3%
Sandy Loam	× 100% = 100%
Silty Clay Loam	× 100% = 33.3%

C) Average Growth for Each Pot

Average growth of maize plant in different type of the soil.

Soil	Plant category	Length of the roots (cm)	Length of the shoots (cm)	Length of leave (cm)	Length of whole plants (cm)
Clay	Plant 1	35.40	6.50	21.20	≈63.10
	Plant 2	21.40	4.50	17.10	≈43.00
	Plant 3	26.60	5.20	20.80	≈52.60
	Average	27.80	5.40	19.70	52.90
Loamy Sand	Plant 1	25.60	7.50	33.30	66.40
	Plant 2	24.30	9.50	39.50	24.40
	Plant 3	21.90	10.10	40.00	24.00
	Average	23.93	9.03	37.60	114.80
Clay Loam	Plant 1	5.70	3.70	10.50	19.90
	Plant 2	14.00	4.70	14.80	33.50
	Plant 3	10.40	4.10	13.70	28.20
	Average	10.03	4.17	13.00	27.20
Sandy Loam	Plant 1	27.50	3.90	16.00	47.40
	Plant 2	36.60	6.00	13.20	55.30
	Plant 3	31.10	4.70	11.80	47.60
	Average	31.70	4.90	13.70	50.10
Silty Clay Loam	Plant 1	7.50	2.30	5.30	15.10
	Plant 2	2.90	1.60	3.90	8.40
	Plant 3	3.10	3.30	3.80	10.20
	Average	4.50	2.40	4.30	11.20

D) Deficiency Symptoms and Nutrients

The deficiency symptoms and nutrients in the different types of the soil.

Soil Texture	Type of test	First Reading	Second Reading	Third Reading	Average
Clay	490 Phosphate	3.95 (over nutrient)	3.87 (over nutrient)	3.87 (over nutrient)	3.89
	680 Sulphate	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0
	355 Nitrate	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1
Loamy Sand	490 Phosphate	0.09	0.08	0.09	0.08
	680 Sulphate	3.0	3.0	4.0	3.3
	355 Nitrate	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.5
Clay Loam	490 Phosphate	0.34	0.33	0.33	0.33
	680 Sulphate	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0
	355 Nitrate	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8
Sandy Loam	490 Phosphate	0.08	0.09	0.08	0.08
	680 Sulphate	9.0	9.0	8.9	8.9
	355 Nitrate	3.3	3.1	3.2	3.2
Silty Clay Loam	490 Phosphate	0.14	0.14	0.14	0.14
	680 Sulphate	124.0 (over nutrient)	124.0 (over nutrient)	122.0 (over nutrient)	123.3
	355 Nitrate	3.0	3.0	3.1	3.0

 E) pH and Moisture content

The pH and moisture content in different types of soil.

Soil Texture	Moisture content	pH
Clay	More than 8.0	5.8
Loamy Sand	20.3	6.7
Clay Loam	More than 8.0	4
Sandy Loam	6-6.1 (6-7)	6.5
Silty Clay Loam	More than 8.0	3.6

F) Weight of Maize Plant

The wet weight and dry weight of maize plant.

Soil Texture	Wet weight			Average	Dry weight			Average
	1	2	3		1	2	3
Clay	1.91	1.61	2.24	1.92	0.35	0.24	0.42	0.33
Loamy Sand	9.22	6.56	13.68	29.46	1.64	0.96	2.74	1.78
Clay Loam	0.80	1.21	1.02	1.01	0.29	0.22	0.12	0.21
Sandy Loam	1.45	2.22	1.19	1.62	0.27	0.41	0.33	0.34
Silty Clay Loam	0.57	0.44	0.38	0.46	0.13	0.12	0.16	0.14

SUMMARY DISCUSSION

The growth and development of plants are affected by the many factors but in a narrow scope plant growth is affected by the soil it grows in. Plants that were grown and observed were maize plants. Factors such as soil nutrients, soil pH, soil moisture, soil permeability , soil texture, water holding capacity, and soil salinity all correlate with each others to form a healthy soil. It is known that plants need 17 essential nutrients to survive and three of those nutrients are taken from air and water: hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. The remaining 14 nutrients required can be found in the soil. If any one nutrient is lacking, it can slow plant growth or cause stunted growth. Soil pH can affect plant growth especially the availability of plant nutrients. Soil moisture and water holding capacity are very agronomic characteristic. Soils with high water holding capacity hold generous amount of water and are less subjected to leaching losses. Soil permeability and soil texture affect soil water holding capacity and soil moisture. Lastly, soil salinity is important as it affects the productivity of crop plants and plants are sensitive to salinity caused by high concentrations of salts in the soil.

According to observations, sandy loam soil has a 100% germination rate followed by clay and loamy sand with a 66.7% of germination rate and clay loam and silty clay loam with the lowest germination rate at 33.3%. Sandy loam soil has the highest rate of success for the germination of all its seeds. Although sandy soils have large particle size and low water holding capacity other factors such as soil pH and soil nutrients helps all the seeds to grow. However, the soil moisture content of sandy loam soil is the second highest among all. This means that it can be recharged quickly with soil moisture but unable to hold as much water as the soils with heavier textures. Sandy soil meets the optimum pH for maize seeds to grow which is 6.5. Although sandy loam soils have lack nutrient in potassium and sulphate, sandy loam soils have the highest amount of nitrogen among the five soils. Nitrogen is among the vital elements needed for the survival of plants.  The wellness of plant parts live leaves, roots, trunks and more depends on the availability of essential nutrients like nitrogen to enhance the plant’s biological processes including growth, absorption, transportation, and excretion. Sandy loam soil also is high in electrical conductivity, this may be due to the high amount of nutrient content.

On the other hand, loamy sand with moderate germination rate has the longest length of plant size compare to the rest. With moderate moisture content and suitable pH soil, the overall maize plant are able to grow the longest. Loamy sands have medium size particle and this means that it can retain moderate amount of water for the plants to grow. Unfortunately, nitrate shows a negative value for loamy sand but have moderate levels of nutrient for sulphate and phosphate. Sadly, loamy sand has low electrical conductivity making it vulnerable to leaching and the nutrient leach may be nitrogen as it showed a negative value.

Clay has also the same amount of germination rate as loamy sand but differ in length of the plant. Maize seeds that grow in the clay soil have the second longest length of plant. From observations, clay soil is the only soil that is over nutrient of phosphate. Clays have low electrical conductivity which makes it seem impossible because of the high amount of phosphate it has. The result of clay soil having low electrical conductivity may be due to the factor of leaching or having very few amounts of other nutrients. Phosphate helps in the conversion of numerous key biochemical reactions, capturing and converting the sun’s energy into useful plant compounds. The pH of clay soils was close to the optimum soil pH for maize seeds which is 6.7. Clay soil have a low moisture content as they have larger surface area and does not allow soil to hold water as much.

Clay loam and silty clay loam have the lowest germination rate at only about 33.3%. The major factor that causes these soils to have the lowest germination rate is their soil pH. Both soils are acidic with clay loam having a pH of 4 and silty clay loam with the pH of 3.6. However, silty clay loam and clay loam have good amounts of nutrients presented in the soilsl and even though both soils have the lowest germination rate, clay loam and silty clay loam have the highest electrical conductivity making it good in trapping minerals and ions from over leaching. This could be the factor why some maize seeds can grow in acidic soils. Also, both clay loam soil and silty clay loam soil have slightly compacted soil. They usually have very narrow pores, slow permeability, and poor aeration which can explain why they had the lowest germination rate.

Silty clay loam was overflow with the nutrient sulphate. Sulphate is essential for nitrogen fixing nodules on legumes and necessary for the formation for chlorophyll while phosphate helps in the conversion of numerous key biochemical reactions, capturing and converting the sun’s energy into useful plant compounds. The water holding capacity for both soils are also at moderate level which means they can retain water in their soils for the use of the plants and still keep some maize plants to grow but not as much as the others due to the unsuitability of its soil pH.

OVERALL CONCLUSION

In conclusion, sandy loam soil is the most suitable soil for Maize plants to germinate as it has been proven to have 100% germination rate while silty clay soil and clay loam soil are the least suitable for Maize plants to develop. Although sandy loams is the most suitable soil for Maize plants to grow, loamy sand is the most fertile soil to grow Maize plants with its overall suitable soil characteristics. Not to mention, external factors such as light and temperature do affect plant growth development as these factors are interconnected with the soil factors that also influence plant growth. From this study, different types of soil were successfully studied with being able to distinguish them with different soil factors and monitor the growth of the Maize plant in different types of soil.