What is the Effect of Various Fertilizers on Radish Plants?
Researched by Courtney H. 2000-01	PURPOSE HYPOTHESIS  EXPERIMENT DESIGN  MATERIALS  PROCEDURES  RESULTS  CONCLUSION  RESEARCH REPORT  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE RESEARCHER

Purpose

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the degree different fertilizers affected the growth of radishes in height and bio mass. 

I became interested in this idea when we grew a garden with various different vegetables and radishes were the fastest ones, and I wondered why. Then I thought about how farmers need to grow a lot of plants and they need the fertilizers to help grow the plants faster and it would help if the fertilizers were less expensive and worked well. 

The information gained was that this experiment should help farmers, consumers, and gardeners determine which product best suites their needs for growing quality agricultural products.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis was that the radish plant would grow faster and taller with Miracle Grow fertilizer.

I base my hypothesis on advertisements claiming that the product will grow "superior plants."

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were: 

• The type and amount of soil 
• Keep the radish plant for the whole experiment 
• Have the same amount of light per day 
• The same temperature all of the time 
• The container to grow the plants in is the same
• The age of the plants and the fertilizer
• The same amount of water

The manipulated variable was the type of fertilizer. 

The responding variables were the amount of growth of the radish plant in height and bio mass. 

To measure the responding variable used a centimeter ruler to measure the height of the radish plant. I also need to used a triple beam balance scale to determine the mass of the radish plant when they were done growing.

            Obtain Material
1. Obtain materials
2 Set up the grow lights so they are one foot above the actual surface of the soil
3 Set up the experimental groups 
4. Label 1 tray CONTROL GROUP and all of the other trays so they are named after the fertilizer for the plant that goes in them
   Setting Up For Experiment
5. Clear out an area where you can put the trays for your experiment where they can all get the same amount of light, make sure the room is about 70°F
6. Put two tablespoons of soil in each little cup section
7. Put 2 seeds in each cup on opposite sides of the little cup section, leave room between the seeds and the walls
8. Then add two tablespoons more soil and pack down a little bit, but not too much
  Experimental Treatment
9. Give them a dose of 1 tablespoon of water skip two days between before you water them again
10.  Make sure they are watered pretty much at the same time for each        treatment
11.   Wait until about three weeks has passed since they were planted
12.    Rinse with water and dry with a towel 
13.   Then measure their weight with the triple balance scale (in grams)
14.   Measure their height with a ruler (in centimeters)
15.   Write the results down, add the results together for each experimental group
16.   Once the mass and height is all added together for each group, divide it by the amount of plants there were sprouted in that       group to get the average. 
17.   Type the results on the computer, make graphs for the results
18. Put all of your papers in the white binder with the sheet covers over them.

The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the degree different fertilizers affected the growth of radishes in height and bio mass.

The results of this experiment were that the control groups works best to grow radish plants fast. The control group had the mass average of 0.9 grams and the height average of 15 centimeters. There were nine plants sprouted in the control group. In the Peters Professional group, there was the second most amount of plants sprouted, three. The Peters group took a while to sprout, like all of the fertilized groups, then took off from there. The average in the Peters Pro group for the mass was 0.64 grams, and for the height average was 14.3 grams. The Miracle Grow group was very slow, the group only grew two plants. The average for the Miracle Grow group had the average of 0.55 grams for the mass and an average of 8.75 for the height, in centimeters. The Sta-Green group was very slow also, it only grew one plant. The mass of the plant was 0.4 grams and the height was 0.2 centimeters.

See the table and graph.

Conclusion

My hypothesis was that the radish plant would grow faster and taller with Miracle Grow fertilizer.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected because I thought that the Miracle Grow group would grow the best plants when the control group did the best. 

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if instead of fertilizing the seeds before sprouting, I could have watered them until they sprouted then started using the fertilizers. I also wonder since the control group did so well that if I tested different types of water the results would change.

If I were to conduct this project again I would have made sure the water and the room temperature were the same throughout the whole experiment. I think I should have planted more plants in each group. I would have also been more precise on measure the mass and height.

Research Report   INTRODUCTION Agriculture is very important to society because food is needed in order for people to be able to live healthier. Fertilizers are needed so the farmers can grow more productive crops, also fertilizers help produce healthy grasses for lawns and golf courses.  Plants  Plants provide many things like shelter, food, inks, oxygen, paper, fuels, medicine, clothing, perfume, ropes, alcohol, sports equipment, photographic film, shade, soaps, rubber, dyes, paints, plastics, and musical instruments. The best soil for plants is when the elements include nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Plants can help the environment by preventing floods, lowering noise, producing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, acting as windbreaks, making the air cool, and reducing soil erosion. Photosynthesis is the process that plants go through to produce their goal. This process requires big amounts of these nine chemical elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. Home garden growers can grow many things like flowers, grass, and food such as fruit and vegetables. Farmers grow practically all of the food that people eat. They also grow food for animals so farmers can raise them for meat, eggs and milk. Radishes Radishes are plants grown for their fleshy root. The scientific name for the radish is Raphanus  sativus. There are many types of radishes, there is French Breakfast, White Icicle, Cherry Belle, and Scarlet Globe. There are also many colors of the radish plant. There is red, white, yellow, purple, pink, black, and the white and red combo. The shapes that radishes can be are round, oblong, and long and pointy like an icicle. Radishes can weigh from less than an ounce to over two pounds. Radishes grow best in cool weather, they can also stand frost. Radishes, depending on the type, can be done growing in 20-60 days. Radishes can be eaten raw, in an appetizer, or in a salad. Radishes can weigh from less than an ounce to over two pounds. Most radishes grown in the United States are harvested in March, April, and May. Florida, California, and Ohio lead in the states for commercial production. Many people also plant radishes in home gardens. Fertilizers Fertilizer has been used for thousands of years. The right minerals don't return to depleted soil so farmers must add fertilizers with the right minerals and elements to help the soil grow good products. If farmers didn’t have fertilizer, more labor and land would be needed to produce the same amount of food. Scientists found the chemical elements that are essential for plant nutrition in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Fertilizer has carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. Air and water give most of the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that plants need. Fertilizer helps phosphorus and potassium increase root growth and vegetable production. In fertilizer, there is a small amount of micronutrients. Micronutrients are boron, chlorine, copper, iron, magnese, molylodenum, and  zinc.  The two main types of fertilizers are mineral and organic. Organic fertilizer comes from animal matter, decayed plant, wood ashes, or sewage. Mineral fertilizers are very wildly used. Mineral fertilizers are produced from ammonia gas. Manufacturers make mineral fertilizers from synthetic substances. The nitrogen in fertilizer helps leaves and stems grow. It has been used for golf courses, farmers, and home garden growers. Farmers buy the most amount of fertilizer yearly. They remove the decayed plants out of the crops before fertilizing because if they don’t they  can have too much fertilizer in one area.  Agriculture Agriculture is the world’s most important industry. Agriculture provides the basic human needs, cloths, and shelter. Agriculture provides materials in industrial products like medicine and paints. Agriculture has over half of the world’s workers. Eleven thousand years ago in the Middle East is when agriculture started to develop, it is one of the world’s oldest industries. At the time Middle Eastern tribes leaned how to grow plants from seeds and how to raise animals in captivity. People had mastered these skills by 10,000 years ago and started to depend a lot on farming for food. Hunting, gathering, and fishing is all that people could do before agriculture was invented, that left people a very small amount of time to do other activities. Fewer people were needed, and farm output increased once agriculture became invented. When fewer people were needed, that meant more people had time to create activities of civilized life. Civilization was possible because of agriculture. Summary Fertilizers are needed so farmers can grow food fast, and with a large harvest. Agriculture is important to society because people need shelter, food, and cloths to live.   Back to top

BIBLIOGRAPHY DeMichele, William A. "Plants" World Book Encyclopedia", 1998.vol. 15 Pp.516-517 Hershey, David R."Plant Biology Science Projects"Soils and Fertilizers, 1995.Pp1-20,95-105 Hershey, David R. "Plant Biology Science Projects" Introduction, 1995. Pp 3-12 Hughes, George R. "Radishes" World Book Encyclopedia",1998.vol.16 Pp. 99-101 Troeh, Fredrick R. "Fertilizers," World Book Encyclopedia, 1998.vol.7 Pp 78-80 Back to top

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  I would like to thank the following people for their help with my science project.

• Mr.Newkirk for making corrections and suggestions on my project
• Mrs.Paskavale for helping me learn how to cut straight bordersand for helping me with a good project.
• Dad for helping me get started amd pick the soil
• Mom for her support and confidence

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