The Effects of Salinity on Seed Germination

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Abstract: An experiment was conducted to test the affects of increased salinity on seed germination. The salt potassium chloride (KCl) at a concentration of .25M was used to test this with water as the control. The two types of seeds used were wheat and mung bean seeds. The seeds were germinated in Ziploc bags over the course of seven days. Because the seed would be hypertonic to the KCl solution it was hypothesized that the rate of seed germination would decrease in comparison to the control group. After a week of germination it was observed that the wheat seed treatment group had a higher germination rate than the mung bean seed treatment group, which was very similar to the trend of the control group. Overall, germination occurred at a decreased rate in the treatment group than in the control group. Introduction: When a plant procreates it produces a seed. Inside every seed is an embryonic plant. After the maturation of the seed, the seed will dry out and enter a dormant state. During this state a seed continues to wait until conditions become favorable for the germination process to begin, which is usually initiated with the presence of water. The germination process is the growing of the small embryonic plant into a seedling or sprout (TSBP). There are many factors that affect the germination process, such as light, temperature, and oxygen. However water is the most important factor of seed germination (TSBP). The seed needs water not only to initiate the germination process but to also to begin cellular metabolism. Water enters the seed by way of osmosis. Osmosis is the process by which water moves across a membrane from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration. However this “drinking” process is known as imbibition. In this experiment the focus of inquiry was the idea of what are the possible effects of a saline solution on seed

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