Sean Hazlett
Central Catholic High School
Grade 9




Chemical fertilizers:

Harm the environment

Used widely
Plant fertilizers

"ingredients“ - enhance plant growth

Competition
This experiment:

Two all-purpose fertilizers - which product works the best

Looking for noticeable effect
Is there a better fertilizer that people can use that is less harmful to the
environment or is no fertilizer the best fertilizer?
What
fertilizer works best (seedlings):
Chemical
Organic
No fertilizer
Effects of fertilizer on seedlings

Light, odorless, transparent green (concentrated)

Easy and pleasant

“All purpose plant food”

“Feeds all types of plants instantly”

Application: seven to fourteen days

Mix with water

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
 “The
three most important nutrients the plants need” - Miracle-Gro
 Unpleasant
odor and coloration
 Benefits:
“Won’t
burn” plants
“Great
for all indoor and outdoor plants”
 Fish
fertilizer – used for centuries
 Nitrogen, phosphate, and potash
Squash
Cucurbita
North
America
Came
Food,
pepo variety
from Mexico
decoration, and recreation
Weigh 6 to 75 lbs.
 Scientific
 Native
to Americas
 Europe
 Place
 Five
Name: Cucurbita
- discovered
of Origin - Andes and Mesoamerica
(common) species - squash
 Fruit
and seeds (edible)
 Utensils,
 Contains:
storage containers, decoration, etc.
vitamin A, vitamin C, dietary fiber, niacin,
folic acid, and iron; free of cholesterol.
 Gourd
family
 Grow on vines
 Three main varieties: slicing, pickling, and
burpless
 From Southern Asia
Widespread
Found
today
on most continents
 Desired
and sold on global markets
 Liquid
Gives
fertilizer:
greatest release of nutrients
Releases
Result:
nutrients fastest
grow most quickly and healthy
Powdered
Easiest
and solid fertilizers – slower
to apply because:
Mixed
with water
Applied
- top of the soil
Null Hypothesis
Alternative Hypothesis
 Fertilizer
 Fertilizer
will not
increase plant
growth.
will
improve the
growth of the
tested plants.

Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food

2-in-1 soil moisture / light tester

Alaska Fish Fertilizer

thermometer / humidity gauge

Ohaus Pioneer Scale (measures down to .0001 grams)

plastic weigh boats (6)

pumpkin seeds

squash seeds

60 mL syringe

cucumber seeds

Sharpie pen

okra seeds (back up group)

scissors

peat planting cups

journal / notebook and pen

styrofoam cups

de-chlorinated water

glass terrarium

ruler / tape measure

plastic folding table

5 or more 2-gallon buckets

printer paper

large plastic sheet
Mix

Jiffy Natural and Organic Seed Starting

plastic food wrap

various colored tape rolls

plant sticks and clips

camera (optional)

5-foot tall adjustable lighting stand

4-foot grow lights

Hydrofoam 4-foot fluorescent grow light fixture
1.
Assembled light and light fixture, table, aquarium, and positioned light fixture (light
should be one inch above the top of aquarium)
2.
Filled all peat planting cups (36) with Jiffy Natural and Organic Seed Starting Mix
3.
Made small indentation for seeds in the top soil in the peat cups for the seeds (1/2 to 1/4
inch deep [ 2x the width of the seed])
4.
Cut off tops of 36 Styrofoam cups (1 inch from bottom) (keep bottoms only), labeled each (1
to 36), paired with a peat pot, organized each according to the chart (see Diagram 1)
5.
Inserted respective seed, watered plants (10 mL each) [repeated every 2 days]
6.
Placed plastic wrap on top of aquarium to retain moisture (removed when lighting switched
to 12-hour intervals)
Diagram 1
16
O
15
S
28
O
6
C
18
S
30
P
8
C
20
S
32
P
13
S
14
O
27
P
5
C
17
S
29
P
7
C
19
S
31
P
3
C
4
O
26
O
10
C
22
S
34
P
12
C
24
S
36
P
1
C
2
O
25
P
9
C
21
S
33
P
11
C
23
S
35
P
P = Pumpkin
S = Squash
C = Cucumber
O = Okra (Back up in case a seed
group did not sprout)
-Control
-Low M-Grow
-High M-Grow
-Low O. Fert
-High O. Fert
Diagram 2
Miracle-Gro
Organic Fert.
Low
¼ tsp. per
gallon
Low
1 tsp. per
gallon
High
½ tsp. per
gallon
High
2 tsp. per
gallon
7.
Monitored temperature and humidity to keep it consistent
throughout experiment
8.
Day 14 - began fertilization - mixed with one gallon of
water, applied to plants (10 mL) every two weeks
9.
Day 41 – removed plants
10. Powered
on Ohaus Pioneer Scale, blanked scale, cut plants at
dirt level, removed soil from both sections of plant, took 2
measurements (wet and dry), and quantified data
5
4.5
P-Values:
Dry, Above = 0.444311
Pumpkin Dry Biomass
Dry, Below = 0.493237
Dry, Total = 0.653131
4
3.5
MASS
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Above
Below
PART OF PLANT
Total
3.5
P-Values:
Dry, Above = 0.444311
Squash Dry Biomass
Dry, Below = 0.493237
Dry, Total = 0.653131
3
2.5
MASS
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Above
Below
PART OF PLANT
Total
1.8
P-Values:
Dry, Above = 0.444311
Cucumber Dry Biomass
Dry, Below = 0.493237
Dry, Total = 0.653131
1.6
1.4
MASS
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Above
Below
PART OF PLANT
Total
P-Value: 0.331212
Pumpkin Dry Biomass
RATIO (ABOVE-BELOW GROUND MASS)
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
FERTILIZER
P-Value: 0.331212
Squash Dry Biomass
1.2
1
RATIO
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
FERTILIZER
P-Value: 0.331212
Cucumber Dry Biomass
0.7
0.6
0.5
RATIO
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
FERTILIZER

Based on this experiment:
 Fertilizer
did not have a direct effect on seedlings and their
early development
 Neither
organic or Miracle-Gro fertilizer appeared to have
a significant benefit

P-Value was far above the 0.05 standard
 The

null hypothesis is accepted
Observations
 Fertilizer
caused the seedlings to grow quickly and
spindly
 Leaves
showed slight traces of yellow - too many nutrients
Conclusion
Hypothesis
Purpose
Experiment
Results
Limitations


Too short of a growing cycle  Experiment is
for the plants to properly
preliminary
mature.
Not a “natural” germination  Add
/ growing period
 Too
small of a seed
sample and too few
replications

Extensions
Difficulty in removing soil
from the plants’ roots in
biomass measurement
only
more seed
variety, replicates,
and time
 Add light and
distance from light
source – new variable
Amerman, Don. “The Effects of Fertilizer on Plant Growth.” eHow. 14 Dec. 2014
http://www.ehow.com/about_5368263_effects-fertilizer-plant-growth.html.
Delp, Rachel. “The Effects of Organic Fertilizer on Plants.” Demand Media.
Home Guides. 14 Dec. 2014
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/effects-organic-fertilizer-plants-69435.html.
“Fertilizer.” Wikipedia. Charles Drakew. 14 Dec. 2014. 14 Dec. 2014
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilizer.
“Is Plant Food the Same as Fertilizer?” eHow. 14 Dec. 2014
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4564047_fertilizer-work.html.
“Plant Nutrients.” NCAGR. 14 Dec. 2014 http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm.
Whiting, David; Wilson, Carl; Reeder, Jean. “Understanding Fertilizers.” CMG GardenNotes No. 232. Yard and
Garden Publications. Oct. 2014. Colorado Master Gardener Program, Colorado State University Extension.
14 Dec. 2014 http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/232.html.
20
18
Pumpkin Wet Biomass
P-Values:
0.718329
0.58935
0.882937
16
14
MASS
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Above
Below
PART OF PLANT
Control
M-G Low
M-G High
O.F. Low
Total
O.F. High
Squash Wet Biomass
16
P-Values:
0.718329
0.58935
0.882937
14
12
MASS
10
8
6
4
2
0
Above
Below
PART OF PLANT
Control
M-G Low
M-G High
O.F. Low
Total
O.F. High
14
Cucumber Wet Biomass
P-Values:
0.718329
0.58935
0.882937
12
10
MASS
8
6
4
2
0
Above
Below
PART OF PLANT
Control
M-G Low
M-G High
O.F. Low
Total
O.F. High
P-Value: 0.665292
Pumpkin Wet Biomass
6
RATIO (BELOW-ABOVE GROUND MASS)
5
4
3
2
1
0
FERTILIZER
3
P-Value: 0.665292
Squash Wet Biomass
2.5
RATIO
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
FERTILIZER
4
P-Value: 0.665292
Cucumber Wet Biomass
3.5
3
RATIO
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
FERTILIZER