The Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide on the Rooting of Plant Cuttings and Seed Germination

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• Science Fair Project Guide

Project Summary

Difficulty	6
Time required	Long (a couple of weeks)
Material Availability	Readily available
Cost	Low ($20 - $50)

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Sponsor

Sponsored by a generous grant from Monsanto Fund

Objective

The purpose of this project is to find out the effect of different concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) on the rooting of plant cuttings and seed germination.

Introduction

Hydrogen peroxide is known as a common disinfectant, however, the Environmental Protection Agency has also recently approved the use of hydrogen peroxide as an ingredient in pesticides. The EPA has deemed hydrogen peroxide safe for use on non-food and food crops both before and after harvest, because it is an effective algicide and fungicide at low concentrations and easily breaks down in the environment. Is hydrogen peroxide also safe for use on seeds or root cuttings?

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

You should familiarize yourself with the process of seed germination and the varying types of seeds and conditions that induce germination. You should also understand how root cuttings grow.

You should also learn about hydrogen peroxide as a pesticide—how does it work?

Bibliography

A very basic introduction to seed germination: http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/vege004/vege004.htm.
An introduction to growing root cuttings: http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/pubs/oh5cuts.html.
A more advanced explanation of root systems and how they work using corn as an example: http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/pubs/AGRY-95-08.pdf.

Information on hydrogen peroxide:
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/nursery-weeds/research/mogeton/main_page.htm,
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_000595.htm.

Materials and Equipment

Materials for experiment with seeds:

• Seeds from a variety of crops such as mung beans, broccoli, bok choy, black eye bean, garbanzo bean
• H₂O₂
• Petri dishes
• Filter paper
• Marker
• Masking tape

Materials for the root cuttings:

• Cuttings from a variety of plants such as: jade plant, ivy, coleus, donkey-tail, etc.
• Flasks
• H₂O₂
• Coarse sand
• Plant nutrients
• Knife (to make cuttings)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Marker
• Masking tape

Experimental Procedure

For the seeds:

• Mix different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and water: 10 ml, 30 ml and 50 ml of H₂O₂ in 473 ml water.
• Place one seed from each of your plant varieties in a petri dish.
• Add one of the hydrogen peroxide concentrations to the petri dish.
• Repeat this for each of the concentrations.
• We also recommend testing each of the concentrations five times so that you will have a good amount of data for analysis.

• Using a knife disinfected with rubbing alcohol, get cuttings from different plant varieties. Make sure to disinfect the knife with rubbing alcohol before and after each cutting operation. The blade should be wiped with a new tissue each time.
• Mix the different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide: 10 ml, 30 ml and 50 ml of H₂O₂ in 908 ml water.
• Prepare the cuttings for root growth. Place one of each variety in pot with coarse sand.
• Add one of the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide.
• Repeat this process for each of the varieties.

Variations

At which concentration does hydrogen peroxide become toxic to plants?
Are there different plant varieties that are resistant to hydrogen peroxide?

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Plant Biology Project Ideas

Last edit date: 2005-08-31 14:52:20

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