AGR13 Crop Production Lab Exercise 5 PDF

NAME: SCORE: COURSE AND YEAR: DATE SUBMITTED: AGR13-PRINCIPLES OF CROP PRODUCTION Laboratory Exercise No. 5 Seed Germination of Pechay in Response to Light Quality I. Introd...

NAME: SCORE: COURSE AND YEAR: DATE SUBMITTED: AGR13-PRINCIPLES OF CROP PRODUCTION Laboratory Exercise No. 5 Seed Germination of Pechay in Response to Light Quality I. Introduction It is a fact of life that most plants need light to grow and keep them healthy, but not all plants need light to germinate, and, as we shall see, some seeds find light a hindrance. If we look at the matter from the gardener's point of view, however, we can use the rule of thumb that most cultivated plants on sale in seed form prefer to germinate in the dark. Some areas are blessed with enough natural sunlight year-round that growers do not need to supplement with artificial light. However, if one wishes to grow vegetable in pots in urban areas, wherein insufficient sunlight is a problem some artificial source of lights could be used. Pechay / Pak Choi (Brassica rapa) belongs to genus of cabbage. It is also known as one of the oldest green vegetables in Asia. Brassica rapa, has been selectively cultivated to produce a plant that has an exceptionally short life cycle (30-45 days). By providing ideal (albeit unnatural) conditions of perfect nutrition and continuous light, one can observe germination, leaf formation, budding, flowering, and seed development in a few weeks rather than a few months. II. Learning Objectives:  To determine the germination response of pechay seeds to different qualities of light. III. Treatments: 1. Control (Sunlight) – exposed to light 2. Red light – wrapping with 2 pcs red cellophane 3. Far Red light – 1 red and 2 blue under 4. Red/Far Red Light – 3 red and 2 blue under 5. Darkness – Carbon Paper IV. Methodology/Procedure: 1. Obtain pechay seeds 2. Place seeds in Petri dishes or any glass containers lined with filter paper/mimeographing paper and water them uniformly. 3. Subject seeds continuously to corresponding treatments until they germinate. 4. All procedure and activities are documented with photos and data. V. Data to be gathered: 1. Average Percent Seed Germination = # of Seed Germinated / # of Seed Sown x 100 2. Average No. of days to Seed Germination 3. Germination Rate = Seeds/Time 4. No. of Normal Seedlings (vigor) 5. No. of leaves/seedling VI. GUIDE QUESTIONS 1. In your own observation, how does light affect the germination of pechay? 2. Do you think that the quality of light affects the growth and development of seeds especially in pechay? 3. In using different treatments, what color light is the best for germinating pechay seeds? 4. How important is light in the growth of seeds not only for pechay but in the other seed species? Justify your answer.