Draft 2: The Effects of Rooting Mediums on Plant Growth

This topic submitted by Shane Gring, Eric Six ( gringsd@muohio.edu, sixek@muohio.edu ) on 10/7/05. [Section: McCollum]

Natural Systems 1 Syllabus---Western Program---Miami University

The Effects of Rooting Medium on Plant Growth
Shane Gring and Eric Six

INTRODUCTION:

Question:
Using the concept of hydroponics, what rooting medium will produce the greatest plant growth? Hydroponics is a planting strategy that involves using rooting medium other than soil to grow plants. This method for planting is used in many areas where crop growth would otherwise be unfavorable or unsuitable. The rooting mediums that will be tested for this experiment include Cocopeat Growcoir, Rockwool, sawdust, sand, and gravel.

Hypothesis:
We believe that the greatest plant growth will result on average from the plants grown in the Rockwool medium. Rockwool is made of igneous rock (lava) and is said to be one of the best growing mediums available for hydroponics.

Predictions:
We feel that the Cocopeat and Rockwool will produce the best growth because they are professionally produced mediums. While the other mediums will be used to explore other, more cost efficient planting options. These mediums should produce respectable growth, but we believe that they wonÕt compare to that of the Cocopeat and Rockwool.
The Cocopeat is made from the short fibers (2mm or less) and dust left over from the production of coconut husks as manufactured products, such as brushes and twine. This Òwaste productÓ was discovered to have superior structural stability, water absorption ability, and drain ability. As for the Rockwood, it is a medium made from basalt rock and chalk and is melted at 1600 C into lava. From there it is placed in a chamber, which turns it into a cotton candy style material. Rockwool is effective because it is has near-zero absorption capacity for water allowing the plant to receive the majority of the water.

Project Description:
Prior to this class, our group had never heard of hydroponics and had no idea what the word meant. So when a classmate suggested the idea, we were intrigued and decided to further investigate. After reviewing some of the journal articles found on the King Library website, we determined that we wanted to test a variety of mediums to determine which is most effective for growth. We researched specialized hydroponics sites for the best mediums and found professionally produced products and decided to test their growth claims. The plant we selected to test the mediums on is the tulip. We chose the tulip because we needed a single stem plant that generally produces a taller flower, so that we can easily measure it on a weekly basis. We also wanted to choose a topic that was applicable to the real world and can be reproduced by just about anyone. We decided to test the growth of the tulip because soil plays a large role in the size and health of a tulip due to the important nutrients. Since we are removing the soil and replacing it with a new medium, we were curious to see their effects. One thing that we hope to accomplish from this experiment is to show farmers alternate ways to grow their crops because in many cases, farmers experience trouble with the land where they farm their crops due to nutrient depletion in the soil. Farmers experience a broad range of problems from flooding, drought, depleted soil and insects, and hydroponics may be a solution for these types of issues. It also offers a solution from soil born diseases, weed growth, and labor is greatly reduced. In addition, hobbyist growers can use our results to home grow their own vegetables and flowers. Our findings can help in the purchasing of our rooting products and can use our experiment designs and methods for growth if just beginning in the field of hydroponics.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Journal Articles:

1) Andersson, Bertil and Noren, Hanna, and Svensson, Per. ÒA convenient and versatile hydroponic cultivation system for Arabidopsis thaliana.Ó Physiologia Planetarium. Revised March 2004. P343-348.

This article contains information about a plant called Arabidopsis and how it was used in a hydroponics experiment using growth gel as a medium. It includes the methods used by these particular scientists, and results they found. Interestingly, the growth gel produced better results than the sterilized soil.

2) Vivian, John. ÒTotal-control, Indoor gardening with modern hydroponics.Ó Mother Earth News. Oct/Nov 1998. P36-46.

This article describes how to pick different mediums for a hydroponics experiment, and points out the best solutions. It also describes the materials and the best ways to use them through a series of pages. It also gives the dangers of not growing plants with hydroponics, such as bugs and other pests.

3) Kim, S. and Madrid, A. and Olofsdotter, M. and Park, S. and Yang, S. ÒEvaluation of rice allelopathy in hydroponics.Ó Weed Research. Feb 2005. P74-79.

This article tests allelopathic activity in rice when grown normally and through hydroponics. To find this activity, scientists extracted samples from the roots and shoots, which were primarily inhibited by water. Through this method, scientists were able to confirm their hypothesis.

4) Qu, R.L, Li, D., Du, R., Qu, R. ÒLead Uptake by Roots of Four Turf grass Species in Hydroponic Cultures.Ó Hort Science Vol. 38 Issue 4(2003): P623-627.

This article discussed the ways in which turf grass absorbs lead through its roots in a controlled environment. These plants were grown by the use of hydroponics so we got ideas from their experiment on how we should set our lab up.

5) Padrick, Roy C. ÒA Different Approach.Ó American Vegetable Grower Vol. 52 Issue 8 (2004): P8-9.

This article gives an example of a hydroponics farm by a vegetable grower in Florida. It explains some of the difficulties with growing crops by way of hydroponics and some of the successes that the farm has experienced since switching to hydroponics.

6) Hunter, Jennifer. ÒGrowing High-Tech Tomatoes.Ó MacleanÕs Vol. 113 Issue 32 (2000): P28.

This article reports on a company called BC Hot House in Canada that uses hydroponics for growing tomatoes. This is an example of the practicality of hydroponics and how it is being used in a real world setting.

7) Martin, Monica del Pilar Uribe. ÒTime for Utopia.Ó New Internationalist Issue 357 (2003): P16.

This article explains the ideas of an activist who wants to develop alternative technology for the needs of communities in Colombia. He suggests the creation of a hydroponics greenhouse to feed the community members and that is where we found that hydroponics could work in a greenhouse rather that having to store them in our rooms.

8) Hydroponics: The revolution that wasnÕt.Ó Mother Earth News, Issue 166 (1998): P36-38.
This article identifies the locations where hydroponics is most widely used, but it is also critical of hydroponics and identifies its weaknesses. The author argues that organic growing is more advantageous than hydroponics. We chose this article because we wanted to read about a different perspective on hydroponics.

9) Echikson, William, Dallas, Sandra. ÒInvasion of the Hydroponic Endive.Ó Business Week, Issue 3519 (1997): P26.

This article shows an example of a group of Belgian farmers who have turned the industry of endive by the use of Hydroponic farming. The medium used by these farmers was water. Hydroponics has cut costs and increased growth and has improved the farmerÕs products as a whole. They refer to it as Òculinary gold.Ó

10) ÒDirt free VegetablesÓ Popular Mechanics, Vol. 180 Issue 8 (2003): P16.

A British Columbia scientist has designed a new rooting medium that is a new way of looking at hydroponics. His design includes a network of interlocking plastic pins that provide an anchor for plants to put down roots.

11) Haggas, Carol. ÒHydroponics: Soil less Gardening Explained.Ó Booklist, Vol. 99, Issue 21 (2003), P1855.

This book and its reviews provided us with some of our most basic ideas. It also gave us our initial ideas about hydroponics.

12) Huttner, Diana, Bar-zvi, Dudy. ÒAn Improved, Simple, Hydroponic Method for Growing Arabidopsis thaliana.Ó Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, Vol. 21 Issue 1 (2003): P59

This article reports on information found on improved and simplified Rockwool hydroponics systems. This article inspired us to use the medium of Rockwool for our lab project.

Web Research:

1) ÒRockwool.Ó Greentree Hydroponics. October 1, 2005. This article further explained the manufacturing of the growing medium, Rockwool. It explained RockwoolÕs history and its advantages and benefits.

2) Meerow, Alan W. ÒCoir Dust, A Viable Alternative to Peat Moss.Ó October 1, 2005
< http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/Environmental/Media_Nutrition/COIR%20potential.htm>

This article introduced us to the rooting medium of Cocopeat. We learned of its history and how it is such a good hydroponics medium.

3) ÒHydroponics is NOT new.Ó Growco Indoor Garden Supply. October 1, 2005
< http://www.4hydroponics.com/hydroponics/hydro_lesson.htm>

This site explained the history of hydroponics and gave examples of how to set up a hydroponics system.

4) ÒEcoenterprises.Ó Ecogrow. October 1, 2005 < http://www.ecogrow.com/>

This is the site where we will be buying our supplies: Cocopeat, Rockwool, and nutrients. This site also offers suggestions and tips to growing your plants.

5) Schidt, James C., Gerber, John M., ÒGrowing Plants Without Soil.Ó Hydroponics as a Hobby.Ó October 1, 2005 http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/hydro/hydrotoc.html

This site offers many tips about watering and offers advice about mediums and nutrient solutions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Research Design:
Our experiment will consist of the analysis of 5 different rooting mediums and their effect on tulip growth. Each rooting medium will have 5 different testing pots, for a total of 25 testing pots. Each will contain the rooting medium and one seed. We will water each of the plants with a mixture of water and a special nutrient solution that will supply the plant with the vitamins and minerals that are normally found in soil. The plants will be watered twice a day because the plants need to be in a moist environment in order to promote growth. We will water the plants during the mid morning hours (10-12 am) and at mid afternoon (4-6 pm). This lab will last for a total of 28 days and we will record the height of the plant every 4 days so that we have 7 measurements for each plant. We will keep a weekly tab on the height of the plants and record them in our data table.

Materials:
25 tulip seeds
Greenhouse
25 pots
25 support sticks
Cocopeat
Rockwool
Sawdust
Sand
Gravel
Ecogrow Standard Powered Nutrient
Water

Method:
1) Buy plant seeds, pots, support sticks, rooting mediums, and Ecogrow nutrient
2) Plant one seed in each pot with 5 seeds per rooting medium. Include support stick
3) Organize in greenhouse by medium
4) Water plant with nutrients twice a day
5) Continue for 28 days, measuring height every 4 days
6) Record results
7) Conclude results, refute or support hypothesis, and finish report

Data Table:
Numbered Plants Height Measurements of Tulips
Day 1 Ð Oct. 17 Day 2 Ð Oct 21 Day 3 Ð Oct 25 Day 4 Ð Oct 29 Day 5 Ð Nov 2 Day 6 Ð Nov 6 Day 7 Ð Nov 10
Cocopeat - 1
2
3
4
5
Rock Wool - 6
7
8
9
10
Saw Dust - 11
12
13
14
15
Sand - 16
17
18
19
20
Gravel - 21
22
23
24
25

Research Timeline:
¥ Week of October 10: Order nutrients; Rockwool, and Cocopeat online, purchase remainder of supplies at Home Depot
¥ Week of October 17: Plant seeds in pots with medium, organize and water
¥ Week of October 24: Observe and record results
¥ Week of October 31: Observe and record results
¥ Week of November 7: Observe and record results
¥ Week of November 14: Analyze and interpret results
¥ Week of November 21: Create charts and compose first draft of final report
¥ Week of November 28: Finalize report

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