Monday, July 8, 2013

Literature Review : Measuring Plant Growth

INTRODUCTION
Plant growth is vital in our project as it determines the results as it shows the effect of water quality on the plants. 

METHODS
There are different ways to measure plant growth. One of them is to count the number of plants multiplied but there are other ways like weighing the plants, finding the root mass, the root shoot ratio and Leaf Surface Area. 

PROCEDURES
To weigh the plants one must remove it from its growing medium (in this cause water) and remove any free surface moisture before weighing it. Root mass is recommended as a final measurement as the plant must be removed from its growing medium in order to capture accurate data.The root:shoot ratio is one measure to help you assess the overall health of plants. For example, an increase in root:shoot ratio could be an indication of a healthier plant, provided the increase came from greater root size and not from a decrease in shoot weight. The Leaf Surface Area method is to trace the plant's leaf on a pice of graph paper and cut it out. This helps to determine if the plant is growing and its growing rate.

CONCLUSION
There are many methods of measuring plat growth. More than one can be used to ensure accuraccy of out results.

Missouri Botanical Garden. (2003, May 3). Measuring Duckweed Growth Retrieved July 7, 2013 from http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/duckweed-measuring-growth.htm

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