Group Members: Nicole Budzinski, Leslie Epps, Raymund Rodriguez, and Reid Vero
Proposed Research Question: How does different water types affect radish seed germination?
Kang, Y., & Wan, S. 2005. Effect of soil water potential on radish (Raphanus sativus L.) growth and water use under drip irrigation. Scientia Horticulturae, 106: 275-292. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030442380500124X
In the experiment carried out by Kang and Wan, different soil water potentials of irrigation were tested in relation to their effect on radish growth. The researchers applied various water potential levels to radishes and collected data based on radish growth, development, root distribution and market quality.
This experiment would be incredibly useful to our future experiment, as the researchers outlined and followed a comprehensive methodology and the experiment resulted in definitive conclusions about the effect of soil water potential on radishes. The researchers determined a growth area in which to plant the radishes and devised five different soil water potential treatments for the radishes. Over the course of two years, the researchers conducted this experiment and determined that although the soil water potential treatment had no impact on radish growth and development, higher soil water potential treatments resulted in lower root weight density and a smaller dry domain in the root zone.
Novero, R., D. H. Smith, F. D. Moore, J. F. Shanahan, and R. d’Andria. 1991. Field-Grown Tomato Response to Carbonated Water Application. Agron. J. 83:911-916. doi:10.2134/agronj1991.00021962008300050026x.
The research performed by Novera, et al., focused on the possibility of achieving greater and faster agricultural yields through the use of carbon dioxide. Because direct carbon dioxide enrichment of the atmosphere would not be cost-effective, the carbon dioxide was applied to water. Tomato plants were used to test the effects of irrigated carbonated water on fruit yield, soil, and the surrounding atmosphere. It was found that carbon dioxide had a prominent and detectable presence in both soil and the surrounding atmosphere, while also increasing tomato yields.
The information presented throughout the research is reliable due to the multiple trials performed under different irrigation intervals. The experiment was also performed in two different years, 1988 and 1999, to compare results. In both years, tomato plant yields showed increases during the intervals in which the experiment took place.
With the results of Novero’s research in mind, it will prove useful to this project. Carbonated water will be seen as an experimental condition that is expected to benefit radish seed growth.
Okumura, T., Muramoto, Y., & Shimizu, N. (2012). Influence of DC electric field on growth of daikon radish (Raphanus sativus). Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, IEEE Transactions on, 19(6), 2237-2241.
In this experiment, the researchers focused on the daikon radish. For their experimental group, they applied a DC electric field of 2.5 kV/m for three hours a day. They were both given the same amount of distilled water and sunlight each day. After 7 days of growth, the samples were harvested. The seed germination percentage was counted, and the seeds were weighed. The length of the sprout was also measured. The results suggested that the germination rate is improved by a DC electric field. Even when using older seeds, the DC electric field was able to recover the function of seed germination in some seeds. They also found that there was a 99.99% reliability that the application of a DC electric field was able to increase the length of the daikon radish as well as increase the weight of the radish. However, when water was removed from the radish plants, the plants from the group without the DC electric field had a higher mass.
This was an interesting article, and the main purpose for the experiment was to find a better way to grow crops in order to feed the world’s growing population. Unfortunately, I don’t think this article will be particularly useful in our research, as it requires the use of a DC electric field, which can be dangerous and requires equipment that we don’t have.
Van Hooijdonk, M. 1999. “Effects of salinity on growth, water use, and nutrient use in radish (Raphanus sativus L)”. Plant and Soil. 215: 57-64.
This research looked at the salinity levels in radish seeds and used that to determine the seed growth. These researchers used five soil salinity levels which were 1,2,4,9 and 13 dS m^-1. The salinity was varied by changing the concentration of all macro nutrients evenly. When making the electrical current higher the amount of nutrients taken in was increased too. The optimal nutrient intake was shown at 4 dS m^-1. Low salinity levels showed limited nutrient intake and high salinity levels showed limited plant growth. Plant growth ended up being the best at 2-4 dSm^-1.
While conducting our own research we have to have these results in mind. We are testing different water types and it is extremely important to keep salinity in mind. We are able to see which type of salinity these seeds would thrive in the most.
