Effect of Clay in Soil on Plant Growth
Effect of Clay in Soil on Plant Growth
INTRODUCTION: In this experiment, the relationship between the amount of clay in the soil and plant growth was measured over a two week time period. The manipulated variable in the experiment was the amount of clay in the soil, specifically one hundred and twenty grams of clay mixed with eighty grams of soil, and the responding variable was the plant growth.
Although clay in soil can be beneficial for plant growth in the sense that is provides good moisture and nutrition retention, this same benefit can act as a hindrance. Soil containing a lot of clay drains slowly which causes it to remain saturated long after it has drained (Bachman, 1). Roots of plants may have a hard time penetrating the soil due to the heavy compacting in the clay (Royal, 1). Usually clay is very high in PH (alkaline), which can be hard on plants as they are trying to attain enough nutrients to grow (Bachman, 1). Our hypothesis for this experiment was that if there is more clay than soil in the mixture, then there will be less plant growth than if the majority of the mixture was soil.
METHODS: Materials used throughout the experiment:
2- plant seeds
1- plastic Tupperware container
80 grams- soil
120 grams- clay
1- pipette
Water
1- ruler
1- plastic bag
Light source
The experiment was conducted using the following steps:
1. Weigh eighty grams of clay and one hundred and twenty grams of soil and mix together in container
2. Dig two evenly spaced out holes in the clay/soil mixture
3. Place one seed in each of the holes
4. Push the clay/soil mixture to cover the seeds
5. Put two drops of water on each buried seed
6. Place container inside the plastic bag and place under light source
7. After one week, measure in mm the growth of each plant with a ruler
8. Record results
9. Repeat for 2 weeks
10. Compare results to control experiment
RESULTS:
After a two-week period, it was found that the average growth of the
INTRODUCTION: In this experiment, the relationship between the amount of clay in the soil and plant growth was measured over a two week time period. The manipulated variable in the experiment was the amount of clay in the soil, specifically one hundred and twenty grams of clay mixed with eighty grams of soil, and the responding variable was the plant growth.
Although clay in soil can be beneficial for plant growth in the sense that is provides good moisture and nutrition retention, this same benefit can act as a hindrance. Soil containing a lot of clay drains slowly which causes it to remain saturated long after it has drained (Bachman, 1). Roots of plants may have a hard time penetrating the soil due to the heavy compacting in the clay (Royal, 1). Usually clay is very high in PH (alkaline), which can be hard on plants as they are trying to attain enough nutrients to grow (Bachman, 1). Our hypothesis for this experiment was that if there is more clay than soil in the mixture, then there will be less plant growth than if the majority of the mixture was soil.
METHODS: Materials used throughout the experiment:
2- plant seeds
1- plastic Tupperware container
80 grams- soil
120 grams- clay
1- pipette
Water
1- ruler
1- plastic bag
Light source
The experiment was conducted using the following steps:
1. Weigh eighty grams of clay and one hundred and twenty grams of soil and mix together in container
2. Dig two evenly spaced out holes in the clay/soil mixture
3. Place one seed in each of the holes
4. Push the clay/soil mixture to cover the seeds
5. Put two drops of water on each buried seed
6. Place container inside the plastic bag and place under light source
7. After one week, measure in mm the growth of each plant with a ruler
8. Record results
9. Repeat for 2 weeks
10. Compare results to control experiment
RESULTS:
After a two-week period, it was found that the average growth of the
Cited: Bachman. "Working With Clay Soil." Bachman 's Garden Care. Bachman 's Inc., 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. "Clay Soils: Plants for." Royal Horticultural Society. The Royal Horticultural Society 2011, 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.