New Experiment

10 April

I started a new experiment today. Beetroot seeds sometimes produce two plants off one seed. My experiment is to see if that makes a difference to their growth.

First I germinated 300 hundred seeds to find the double germinators (one seed with two radicles), then in the glasshouse I set up 30 pots with potting mix. Into 15 pots I planted a double germinator in the middle and four single germinators (one seed with one radicle) around the edge in a square. Into the other 15 pots I planted 15 single germinators in the middle of each pot and four other single ones around each one.

I germinated the seeds by putting them between wet paper towels in a plastic bag.



 

I have put them in the glasshouse to grow. Now I wait...

29 April

The  beetroot plants are starting to grow nicely. Some of the plants missing but the others are showing. Over the next few weeks I will collect growth data, such as the number of true leaves in the centre plant (twice a week), and measuring the length of the second true leaf on each plant (once a week). This will hopefully give me some data after several weeks as to growth patterns.

The true leaves are the ones after the initial cotyledon shows.



 

 

6 May

Today I did a true leaf count of the beetroot plants in the glasshouse. I am only counting the middle leaves as they are the ones that are crucial to this experiment. I am trying to see if there is a difference to plant growth according to whether their seed germinated as a single plant or a double plant. However,  I noticed that when I went to count 3 of the single plants they had become doubles, with two plants growing in the middle.. This tells me that the seed grew a second radicle after I planted it.  I did need to get clarification that the leaves I was counting were true leaves and not the plant’s cotyledon. Most of the plants had 2 leaves so far. I will count again on Friday.

One pot has a very slow growing centre plant. Can you see it?

I use a ruler to measure the second true leaf.

So I know which leaf I will measure I have put a pink tab on its stalk.

 Any experiment with plants takes time for the growth to happen. So a plant scientist will often have several experiments running at the same time.