Group Members: Maddy Goodhart and Nick Cutrone Date: September 29, 2014

Title: Fertilizer and Seed Germination

Introduction and Statement of the Problem:

Question: Do more seeds germinate if fertilizer is applied?

Background research:

Plants need a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients in order
to grow. If a plant is nutrient deficient, it will likely have stunted growth or die. On the fish
fertilizer bottle, it suggests germinating seeds by exposing them to a solution of 1-teaspoon
fertilizer for every cup of water to improve the yield. The Cornell University gardening
website suggests that radishes do best in soil that is high in organic matter.


Hypothesis:

If 36 radish seeds are planted, 18 watered with fertilizer solution and 18 watered with plain
tap water, then more seeds will germinate in the group watered with fertilizer solution.

Materials:

4 planting containers (each with 3 compartments)
12 soil pods
36 radish seeds
tap water
2 large trays
a ruler
masking tape
a sharpie
fish fertilizer
a 400 mL beaker
a teaspoon
























Procedure:

First gather 4 planting containers, then briefly soak each soil pod in water to soften
it. Put a soil pod in each compartment, and plant 3 radish seeds in each compartment. Get 2
large trays and fill each of them will half an inch of water. Put two planting containers in one
tray and two in the other. Use masking tape and a sharpie to label one tray fertilizer and
the other no fertilizer. Using a 400 mL beaker, stir 1 teaspoon of fish fertilizer into 1 cup
(236.588 mL) of water. Pour 2 teaspoons of fertilizer solution over each of the
compartments of the containers in the fertilizer tray every 2 days, remaking the solution as
necessary. Also count and record how many seeds have germinated in each group every 2
days.

Results:

Radish Seed Germination

Number of Radish Seeds Germinated
Fertilizer No Fertilizer
Container 1 Container 2 Container 3 Container 4
Day 1 (Sept. 17) 0 0 0 0
Day 3 (Sept. 19) 2 2 1 2
Day 6 (Sept. 22) 3 5 8 7
Day 8 (Sept. 24) 3 5 8 7
Day 10 (Sept. 26) 3 5 8 7




















September 26, 2014:












Fertilizer Group Heights
Plant # Height (cm)
1 5
2 7.5
3 2
4 6.5
5 8
6 5.5
7 6.5
8 6


No Fertilizer Group Heights
Plant # Height (cm)
1 6
2 9
3 10
4 7.5
5 8.5
6 7
7 8.5
8 7
9 6.5
10 8.5
11 9
12 9
13 6.5
14 8.5
15 7.5


Conclusion:

The conclusion, stating that radish seeds exposed to fertilizer would have a higher
germination yield than those that were not, was disproved. Although the fertilizer group
appeared to germinate faster before the first check in, it was only by one seed, and likely
statistically insignificant. In a trend starting on Day 6, more seeds that were not exposed to
fertilizer germinated than those that were. On this day it was found that 15 seeds without
fertilizer had germinated, as opposed to only 8 of with fertilizer. The no fertilizer group had
a yield of 83.3% of seeds germinated, while the fertilizer group only had a yield of 44.4%.
Additionally, the seedlings that had not been exposed to fertilizer appeared larger and
healthier. In the fertilizer group, the average height of a seedling was 5.875 cm. In the no
fertilizer group, the average height of a seedling was 7.933 cm, and the leaves of these plants
seemed fuller and a slightly more vibrant color of green. This data could be useful for
farmers who have been attempting to increase their crop yield by using fertilizer, as they may
want to stop. Further research could be conducted as to whether different types of fertilizer
share this effect, and whether adding fertilizer after seeds have already germinated is more
beneficial. There was a slight error with this experiment, as data was not collected on Day 5
as planned (because it was a weekend and the experimenters were not in the school), which
disrupted the pattern of data collection. If the experiment was duplicated, it might also be
useful to measure the mass of each seedling on Day 10 along with the height to add more
insight into the health of the plants.