Conclusion - What I have Learnt

These are some of the things I have learnt from the project.

• Seeds remain dormant or inactive until conditions are right for germination. All seeds need water, oxygen, and proper temperature in order to germinate. Some seeds require proper light also. Some germinate better in full light while others require darkness to germinate.
  
• When a seed is exposed to the proper conditions, water and oxygen are taken in through the seed coat. The embryo's cells start to enlarge. Then the seed coat breaks open and a root or radicle emerges first, followed by the shoot or plumule that contains the leaves and stem.
  
• How fast a seed germinate can depend on the thickness of the seed coat. If the seed coat is very thick, the seed cannot absorb water very quickly, and so the germination process will be slowed down.


• The first set of leaves that appear when a seed germinates are called, 'Seed Leaves' or "First Leaves" or "Cotyledons". These serve to nourish the new seedling until it can photosynthesize its own food. A plant's Seed Leaves or First Leaves usually don't look much like the leaves that emerge later. The leaves that emerge after this are called "True Leaves".


• Bid Seeds have big cotyledons or Seed Leaves and so they can feed the embryo longer before the seed germinate.
  

Lastly - I learnt that the Maha Bodhi Seed is indeed a Jackfruit Seed. How do I know?

The shape of the leaves is the same as that of a Jackfruit Tree. However, since my plant did not grow to become a mature plant, I cannot see its fruits and confirm that it is Jackfruit. But Mr Tan says is is a Jackfruit Seed - so it must be one! :-)

The end.

Observations

These are the things I have also observed in the growth of the seeds:

The Stems are thin and weak

The stems of all the plants are very thin and tall. In fact, they are so thin that the plant could not stand upright by itself very well. It leans to one side of the bag. I think this happen because I used water to grow the plants and not soil. So the plants do not have extra nutrients that they can get from the soil to make it stronger, and also the roots does not have anything to hold on to, to help the plant stand firm.

A plant with big seed seems to be stronger

Of all the seeds, the Maha Bodhi seed and the Kidney Beans grew into plants with the strongest stems. They are also the slowest to grow their first leaves, but once that happen, they grow very quickly and heathily.

I read the internet and some scientist says that the reason bigger seeds tend to grow into stronger plants is because they have more stored food in their cotyledons (or seed leaves). They also tend to have stronger and better formed embryos.

Roots will always grow downwards to the water, and Shoots upwards to the Sun

In the beginning, when the roots of all the seeds appeared, they were pointing upwards. However, after 1 to 2 days, the roots are observed to turn themselves downwards, towards where the water is. This is what killed my Black-eye beans. While the roots was trying to turn down towards the water, it could not find a space between the staplers and the roots got crushed. :-(

By the time the shoots start to grow, the roots are facing the right direction - downwards. So the shoots have no problem growing upwards towards the Sun.

It is very hard for a plant to grow into a healthy mature plant if it is grown in only water

All the stems of the plants are skinny and long. They are not strong and tend to lean towards one side. The Maha Bodhi plant twines itself around my window grill to lift itself upright.

For the Green Bean plant, it is worst. After growing very quickly in the beginning, it stopped growing totally after a few days! The seedleaves dried up as its food has been used up by the plant, even before True Leaves appeared. My mother says that for the Green Bean Plant to survive, we should replant it into a pot with soil. The slow release fertiliser is not enough to keep the plant healthy and alive for long.

Data on Growth of Leaves and Stem

Mr Tan wanted us to record the growth of the leaves and the stem.

The numbers in centimeters show how tall the stem is. I did not measure it everyday, only most of the days. I also recorded when the First Leaves appear, and then the start of the True Leaves.

In the beginning, most of the stems grew very fast. However, after reaching some height, and the True Leaves start to appear, the growth of the stem is not so fast anymore.

For the Maha Bodhi seed though, the stem grew and grew and grew so fast each day. In fact right now, the stem has grown so tall it has reached the top of my window grill! Maybe it will grow all the way to the sky. My mother says that when that happen, we will have "Yeshe and the Jackfruit Stalk". Ha ha ha.

Thickness of Seed Coat will affect how fast the seed germinate

This shows when each of the seeds start to germinate.

I searched the internet to find out if the size of the seed will affect how fast the seed germinate. Most of them say that the size of the seed does not affect it.

However, they did say that the thickness of the seed coat will affect how much water the seed can soak up, and this can affect the speed of germination. I got this from the internet:

"Environmental conditions effecting seed germination include: water, oxygen, temperature and light.

Three distinct phases of seed germination occur: water imbibition; lag phase; and radicle emergence.

In order for the seed coat to split, the embryo must imbibe (soak up water), which causes it to swell, splitting the seed coat. However, the nature of the seed coat determines how rapidly water can penetrate and subsequently initiate germination. The rate of imbibition is dependent on the permeability (how easy for water to pass through) of the seed coat, amount of water in the environment and the area of contact the seed has to the source of water."

Since all the seeds in my ziplock bag has the same amount of water, and are placed in the same environment, then I think the reason that some grow faster than others could be because they have different seed coats thickness.

The Black-eye bean must have the thinnest seed coat and the Kidney bean the thickest. I am surprised because I thought that the Maha Bodhi Seed would have the thickest seed coat. I guess I am wrong.

April 16 - First Leaves vs True Leaves

I asked Mr Tan about the Maha Bodhi seed and told him that the leaves look different from a Jackfruit leave, and that the stem is twinning around my window grill. He says to continue to watch the leaves.

I found this on the internet:

"The primary leaves of an embryo that are present in the seed. These are the very first leaves that emerge and are not true leaves. The very first leaves can look very different from the true leaves."

Another web-site:

"The first set of leaves that appear when a seed germinates are called, strangely enough, 'seed leaves'. These serve to nourish the new sprout until it can photosynthesize its own food. A plant's seed leaves usually don't look much like the leaves that emerge later and are considered "true leaves." (Consider a bean plant: the first leaves resemble a bean seed split in half, while the true leaves are heart-shaped.) There is no need to remove the seed leaves. Once they've done their job, they'll shrivel up on their own."

Now I know why Mr Tan ask me to continue to observe. The True Leaves of the Maha Bodhi plant has grown bigger and I can see it clearly now. It is different in shape from the first leaves. It is oval, and smooth-edge and look like the leaves of a Jackfruit tree!

As to why my Maha Bodhi plant is twinning round my window grill, Mr Tan says that it is because I place it at the window grill and the steam naturally use it as a support. If I have planted it away from any support, the stem should grow up straight.

I have learnt 2 new things about plants. :-)

April 11 - The Maha Bodhi Plant

Here are 2 pictures of the Maha Bodhi plant. One shows the first leaves - which is like a rounded-heart shape. The other shows how the stem is happily twinning itself on my window grill.

How can this be a Jackfruit plant? I thought the Jackfruit leaves is oval in shape, and the stem is strong and thick, and is able to stand on its own.

Is Mr Tan trying to trick us? I plan to ask him again when I go to school next week.

April 10 - What seed is the Maha Bodhi Seed?

The first leaves of the Maha Bodhi seed and the Kidney beans have grown big. Strangely, they are the same shape... little bit like a heart shape, but more rounded. I remember Mr Tan said that the Maha Bodhi seed is a Jackfruit seed, then how come the leaves are the same shape as a Kidney bean?

You can also see from this picture that the Black-eye beans (2nd seed from the right, and 2nd seed from the left) are shrivelling up.