MINI PROJECT: PANDAN MAIZE COMPANION


CAPTAIN: Chan Chun Kent
Emily Chong Shiuk Min
Nur Fatin Nabilah 
Farlina
Evita

 Report Submission:
First Lab Report (LINK)
Second Lab Report (LINK)
Third Lab Report (LINK)
Fourth Lab Report (LINK)
Fifth Lab Report (LINK)
Hardcopy Overall Summary Report

Lab Schedule:
26th March 2018 - Soil permeability Test (Click Here)
26th March 2018 - Soil Salinity Test (CLICK HERE)
13th April 2018 - Sieve Analysis Test (CLICK HERE)
13th April 2018- Soil Nutrient Analysis (CLICK HERE) <VIDEO REPORT>
27th April 2018
Research Questions:
  1. Does plant growth is affected by its neighbour/companion ?
  2. Which kind of pairing stimulate/inhibit plant growth?
  3. Do companion planting influence nutrient bioavailability/phytoavailability of the soil for plant growth?
  4. Is the nutrient in the soil sufficient for the plant to grow?
  5. Are there any obvious interaction occurring at rhizosphere?
Materials:
  1. pandan maize,  butterfly pea, cotton, Tadong peanut and swiss chard seeds
  2. 5 pots (poke same number of holes at the bottom of the pot for drainage)
  3. 500ml recycle bottle (for watering)
  4. One type of soil texture (soil medium for 5 pots and one portion keep for lab analysis)
  5.  Record GPS soil sample location taken (can upload apps from smartphone)
  6. Two recycle empty transparent bottle glass jar for soil texture analysis (same size, smooth even surface).
  7. Two empty recycle tin can (same size), poke same number of holes at the bottom of the can.
  8. Three Recycle plastic container for air-dry soil.
  9. Camera (smartphone) to record plant growth.
1st Lab Analysis (Report submit online due 24th March 2018):
  1. Fill up the pot with soil. Pat the soil to compress the soil so that the level of soil does not shrink after watering.
  2. Divide the number of seeds equally for each pot and space the seeds when seed sowing. Pot A : Pandan maize only (control)/ Pot B : Pandan Maize and Tadong Peanut seeds/ Pot C:  Pandan Maize and cotton seeds/ Pot D:  Pandan Maize and butterfly pea seeds/ Pot E:  Pandan Maize and swiss chard seeds.
  3. Top about 1cm thick of soil after seed are placed on the soil. Then water with same amount (500ml) for each pot.
  4. Soil Color Analysis (refer lab manual).
  5. Soil Texture Analysis (refer lab manual).
  6. Soil Moisture (weight 100gram of soil sample). Record wet weight. Then air dry soil. After 2 weeks when soil is totally dried. Weight dry weight.
  7. Water the soil daily with the same amount.
    Observation Record:
    1. Germination rate for each pot.
    2. Mortality/survival rate of the plant growth.
    3. How long does seeds start to sprout an emerge from the soil for each soil texture.
    4. Average growth of the plants (root, shoot and whole plant) for each soil texture every two weeks.
    5. Count nodules on each plants.
    6. Nutrient availability of each soil sample.
    7. Deficiency symptoms.
    8. Capture photos of plant growth development.
    9. Good companion or bad companion?
    Plant Growth Monitoring:

    13th April 2018: 
    Dig out carefully 5 plants of pandan maize (make sure roots intact) from each pot and measure the length of root, shoot and whole plant.
    Measure the wet weight of the whole plant. 
    Then dry the plant, after plant dried completely. 
    Measure plant dry weight. 
    Count nodules.
    Observe which pair likes or dislike each other.
    Record observation. Take photos for comparison.
    19th April 2018 : 
    Measure plant length, weight and nodules (average 5 plants for each type of plants from each soil sample).
    Observe which pair likes or dislike each other.
    Record observation. Take photos for comparison.

    SUGGESTION:

    Read up on companion planting.

    Get to know how plants can influence each other by inhibition or stimulating growth.

    Don't forget to keep your reference list for your report. Citations.

    Fill free to add on research questions or observation data. 

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