EXERCISE 2

GROWTH OF AN INTACT PLANT1

JOSE DALE L. VIACRUCIS III

2014-36709

BOT 132 T-1L

1
A scientific paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in
BOTANY/HORTICULTURE 132: Plant Growth Laboratory under Dr. Rachel Sotto, 2 nd
Semester A.Y. 2017-2018 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
 INTRODUCTION

One of the most fundamental and conspicuous characteristics of a biotic organism is

growth. It is defined as an irreversible and permanent increase in organ size or its parts even of
an individual cell. This is accompanied by catabolic and anabolic processes of metabolism and
occurs at the expense of energy. In plants, example of growth would be the expansion of leaf,
root and shoot length (Srivastava, 2002).

The rate of growth can be expressed mathematically. Growth rate, defined as the increase
in growth per unit time, may be arithmetic or geometrical. In a geometrical growth, the initial
growth is slow and it increases rapidly at an exponential rate. However, with limited nutrient
supply, the growth slows down leading to a stationary phase. Plotting it against time, we get a
typical sigmoid or S-curve (Srivastava, 2002).

METHODOLOGY

Seeds from the plant species assigned (Amaranthus sp.) were secured and planted in rows
in a prepared garden plot at the recommended distance of planting. They were grown under
normal cultural care up to maturity. The fresh and dry weights of at least 3 plants were obtained
every week.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 2.1. Periodic weight of soil-grown Amaranthus sp.

Date of sowing: January 18, 2018

The experimental plant was Amaranthus sp, a member of the family Amaranthaceae. It
has a cosmopolitan distribution and members of the genus are collectively known as amaranths.
These are summer annual weeds and showed a wide variety of morphological diversity among
and within species (Juan, 2007).

16

14

12

10
Height

8
Fresh Weight
6 Dry Weight

0
7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56
Time

Fig. 1. Fresh weight and dry weights plotted over time

 Table 1 showed the tabulated form of the data, the fresh and dry weights of the plant,
obtained over the course of 8 weeks. Figure 1 showed the plot of the fresh and dry weights over
time. As seen in Fig. 1, the plot showed a typical S-curve or sigmoid curve. Lag phase occurred
at the first three weeks where the plant was just starting to germinate and establish itself in the
new environment. The log phase starts at day-35 where there is an exponential increase in
growth. However, the weight of the plant starts to plateau at Day 42. The growth started to
diminish in day 49 – onwards, showing a slow increase in growth.

In the experiment, the Amaranthus sp was grown under normal cultural care. A sigmoid
curve is a characteristic of a living organism growing in a natural environment. It is typical for
all cells, tissues, and organs of a plant.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In order for a plant to achieve optimum growth and morphological response, it is

important that the environmental conditions are suitable and the nutrients needed are readily
available. A growth of a plant when plotted over time showed a typical s-curve or Sigmoid curve.
The curve is characterized by the lag phase, where the plant is still establishing itself in its new
environment. This is followed by the log phase or the exponential growth of the plant. This is
where the plant starts to imbibe more nutrients and resources available in the area for growth and
development. When these resources starts to deplete, the plant will now undergo its diminishing
phase or the slow increase in growth. Lastly, it will reach to the stationary phase where growth
finally stops.

REFERENCES

Juan; et al. (2007). "Electrophoretic characterization of Amaranthus L. seed proteins and its
systematic implication". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 155: 57–63.
doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2007.00665.x..

Srivastava, L. M. (2002). Plant growth and development: hormones and environment. Elsevier.