Radish Seeds

INTRODUCTION A seed is a fertilized ovule that contains an embryo and transforms it into a new plant through the process of germination. Seeds remain inactive until conditions are right for germination. All seeds need water, oxygen, and proper temperature in order to germinate. However, some seeds require full light or darkness to germinate. According to Holm (1996) seeds have chemical inhibitors that prevent germination. A seed will not grow unless those inhibitors are destroyed by things like temperature changes, moisture, and sunlight. These conditions combine in infinite ways, making each plant's germination needs different. The first sign of germination is when the seed absorbs the water. Water and oxygen are taken in through the seed coat causing the embryo's cells to enlarge. The seed coat breaks open and a root emerges first, followed by the shoot or plumule that contains the leaves and stem (Campbell 2004). We performed an experiment on wheat seeds to examine how the concentration of Miracle Grow affected the germination of the seeds. Vitamins provide extra nutrients to people like fertilizers do for seeds. If one exceeds the recommended dose of vitamins ones health is in danger and if one takes less than the recommended dose, the body will not receive any extra nutrients. The same is true for seeds, more than the recommended amount will kill the seeds and less than the recommended amount will have no effect. Therefore, we hypothesized that if wheat seeds are given the recommended amount of Miracle Grow then the highest percentage of seed germination will be obtained, compared to seeds with a higher or lower concentration of Miracle Grow or water.
MATERIALS AND METHODS A test was performed on wheat seeds containing different concentrations of miracle grow to determine there rate of germination. The control group for this experiment consisted of distilled water. There were three different concentrations of miracle grow: recommended, two times