Essay Example Analysing the Effects of Soil Ph on Radish Plants Growth
Effects of soil ph variation on radish plants growth
Background information:
the soil ph can have 2 different impacts on the growth of plant roots.
First and most important is how it affects the concentration of nutrients present in the soil itself. This variable varies depending on the ph tendency, in particular, nutrients like phosphorous, potassium ,sulphur, calcium and magnesium tend to drastically decrease in more acidic ph conditions (<6.0), on the other hand iron, manganese, boron, copper and zinc tend to lack in alkaline enviroments (>7.5) [figure 1]. The importance of these types of nutrients varies depending on the species of plant, in this case radish tends to show higher concentrations of Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Phosphorous and Sodium. These all tend to grow in more alkali or neutral soil conditions rather than acidic as showed in figure 1. Another variable affected by a change in ph is the growth of microorganisms in the soil specifically affecting their respiration rate and the PLFA (phospholipid fatty acids) concentration [figure 3], which consist in the main component of the cell membrane of most microbes, including the soil ones. In this case too the graph [figure 2] seems to show a straight directly proportional relationship between respiration rate and PLFA concentration and PH growth, meaning that microorganisms optimum ph conditions tend to be either neutral or slightly alkali, particuralrly for respiration the best fit line on the graph displays a steeper line with a bigger gradient.
Conclusion
As a hypothesis i would say that the best results in terms of mass gaining and length should be matched by the radish seeds growing in an alkali or neutral enviroment, rather than in an acidic one
To revisit my hypothesis and understand why the base solution should provide better nutrients for the radish rather than the other ones it is very important to understand the concept of CEC (Cation Exchange
Background information:
the soil ph can have 2 different impacts on the growth of plant roots.
First and most important is how it affects the concentration of nutrients present in the soil itself. This variable varies depending on the ph tendency, in particular, nutrients like phosphorous, potassium ,sulphur, calcium and magnesium tend to drastically decrease in more acidic ph conditions (<6.0), on the other hand iron, manganese, boron, copper and zinc tend to lack in alkaline enviroments (>7.5) [figure 1]. The importance of these types of nutrients varies depending on the species of plant, in this case radish tends to show higher concentrations of Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Phosphorous and Sodium. These all tend to grow in more alkali or neutral soil conditions rather than acidic as showed in figure 1. Another variable affected by a change in ph is the growth of microorganisms in the soil specifically affecting their respiration rate and the PLFA (phospholipid fatty acids) concentration [figure 3], which consist in the main component of the cell membrane of most microbes, including the soil ones. In this case too the graph [figure 2] seems to show a straight directly proportional relationship between respiration rate and PLFA concentration and PH growth, meaning that microorganisms optimum ph conditions tend to be either neutral or slightly alkali, particuralrly for respiration the best fit line on the graph displays a steeper line with a bigger gradient.
Conclusion
As a hypothesis i would say that the best results in terms of mass gaining and length should be matched by the radish seeds growing in an alkali or neutral enviroment, rather than in an acidic one
To revisit my hypothesis and understand why the base solution should provide better nutrients for the radish rather than the other ones it is very important to understand the concept of CEC (Cation Exchange