Corn Varieties: Nutrient Uptake and Response to Phosphoric Fertilizers

This report investigates the impact of different phosphoric fertilizers on nutrient uptake and plant response in various corn varieties. The study examines the effects of superphosphate fertilizer, rock phosphate, and poultry manure on corn plants, focusing on parameters such as shoot and root biomass, chlorophyll content, plant height, and potassium and phosphorus levels in both shoots and roots. The research employs a quantitative study design with experimental analysis, utilizing data sourced from the University of New England. The findings suggest that superphosphate fertilizer is most effective for overall plant growth and biomass, while poultry manure is beneficial for enhancing chlorophyll content. The study highlights the importance of phosphorus in corn cultivation, emphasizing its role in cell division, energy transfer, and overall plant development. Desklib offers similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running head: MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
Master of Science in Agriculture
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1MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
Title
To investigate the nutrient uptake and plant response in different varieties of corn
using different phosphoric fertilizers.

2MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
Abstract
Phosphorus is required by plants for cell division, nucleus formation, photosynthesis,
utilization of starch and sugar and growth. within the plants compounds of
phosphorus are responsible for the storage and transfer of energy. In corn
cultivation, phosphorus is a micronutrient and play a major role in the development of
the corn that are planted in rows. When corn plants have sufficient access to soil in
plants, the attainment of maturity is fast, grain production is enhanced, crop quality
improves, stalk strength increases, root growth increases. This study signifies that
the application of the phosphorus fertilizer is best suited for the cultivation of corn. It
has been found super phosphate is best fertilizer that aids in the growth of the
plants, and helps the corn plants to have higher shoot and root biomass. While the
poultry manure is best when applied to the corn plants when there is a need to
increase the chlorophyll of the green plants.
Keywords- Superphosphate fertilizer, poultry manure, shoot biomass, root biomass,
corn variety.

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Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................4
Methods........................................................................................................................5
Results..........................................................................................................................7
Discussion..................................................................................................................15
Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................15
Reference...................................................................................................................17

4MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
Introduction
Phosphorus is vital for the plant growth and is required by the plant for proper
growth. Phosphorus deficiencies in plants can only be corrected with the proper
application of the phosphate fertilizer. Phosphorus is required by plants for cell
division, nucleus formation, photosynthesis, utilization of starch and sugar and
growth. within the plants compounds of phosphorus are responsible for the storage
and transfer of energy (Razaq, Zhang & Shen, 2017). Energy generated from the
process of photosynthesis and the subsequent metabolism of carbohydrates, helps
in the growth of plants. Within the plants phosphorus is readily translocated and it
moves from the older tissues to the younger tissues and thus the plants develop
leaves, stems and roots. When phosphorus is adequately available in soil, then it is
associated with the increased amount of root growth and thus helps in the attainment
of early maturity. Phosphorus also assists in the quality enhancement of the
vegetative crop growth (Koufali et al., 2016). Soil having the adequate supply of
phosphorous helps in the growth of the roots of the plant. While the deficiency of the
phosphorus in the soil leads to the reduced crop maturity and slow plant growth. it
has been found that in the actively growing plants, phosphorus is abundantly found
in the growing tissue. When the plants acquire about 15 percent of the overall body
weight, the plants are found to have accumulated 75 percent of the phosphorus
(Veneklaas et al., 2012).
Especially in corn cultivation, phosphorus is a micronutrient and play a major
role in the development of the corn that are planted in rows. When corn plants have
sufficient access to soil in plants, the attainment of maturity is fast, grain production
is enhanced, crop quality improves, stalk strength increases, root growth increases.
Researches have shown that high energy phosphate forms a major part of
adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate and this provides energy for
several vital reactions that are taking place within cells (Prasad et al., 2012). Thus,
subsequently the elevated levels of cell division lead to plant development and
growth. Phosphorus is generally stored as phytin in the seeds and studies have
shown that around 50 percent of phosphorus is stored in the legume seeds and the
percentage increases from 60 to 70 percentage for the cereals. Thus, when a plant
is getting enough quantity of phosphorus, then the seed quantity and the seed size

5MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
will be reduced. It is also essential during the initial stages of development and
growth and helps in seed development, root growth and development, in the
germination of seeds (Ahmad et al., 2017). It is thus, necessary to specifically
combine the fertilizers in required way to ensure the seedlings turn out into a healthy
young crop. Thus, the study focuses on the investigation of the nutrient uptake and
the responses of the different varieties of corn plants through the usage of the
phosphoric fertilizers (Razaq, Zhang & Shen, 2017). This study will further analyse
the shoot potassium content, root potassium content, root biomass, shoot biomass,
root phosphorus content, shoot phosphorus content, leaf chlorophyll, root and shoot
biomass content, and plant height analysis (Teng et al., 2013).
Hypothesis: this proposal depends on the different hypothesis and this will
help in the study of the objective. These hypotheses help in the formulation of the
study questions that are necessary for the research and thus the answers are based
on them. the following are the hypotheses for the study.
1. different fertilizers have the different levels of phosphorus. The study will
include the application of the different types of fertilizers and also including the
animal manure. All these contain different levels of phosphorus and which type of the
fertilizer is best suited for the high development and high growth of the corn
production.
2. Different varieties of corn have different levels of phosphorus intake that
are required for the development and growth. This study applies the different
varieties of corn and along with it establish which variety of corn takes up the less
and most levels of phosphorus.
3. The development and growth of the shoot, root and height, shoot and root
biomass, chlorophyll of the corn plants directly impacts the levels of phosphorus in
the soil. This study will investigate the effect of both the phosphorus fertilizers and
the on the different stages and the functions of the corn production. This study also
focusses on the shoot biomass, root biomass, chlorophyll content, shoots, roots.
Methods
The study applies the quantitative study design and it will investigate the
outcome through the identified hypotheses. The methodology selected for the study

6MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
will include the experiments based on the experimental analysis and height
measurements of the different variables. The Study will include different variables
which include the fertilizer type, potassium content, phosphorus content and these
are the independent variables for the study. whereas, the dependent variables of the
study include the shoot biomass, root biomass, chlorophyll content, plant height,
corn variety. Both the independent and the dependent variables will be studied and it
will include the control group.
Data is sourced from the moddle located in the University of New England.
The sourced data includes the three fertilizers namely super phosphate fertilizer,
phosphate fertilizer, and the poultry manure. The study involves the four different
types of corn varieties namely A, B, C, and D. Among the four different varieties, one
will be used as a control. Thus, the study will include 3 samples and one as a control
group. The study will be an experimental type and it will target the hypothesis. The
analysis will involve the usage of the tables and graphs for the effective
representation of the results and at the same time will also help to test the various
hypothesis. Tables will be used for the data representation since it is beneficial for
the data representation and recording of available data. Tables along with the graph
will be beneficial for making proper comparisons for the various parameters that are
being tested in the study. The graphs will assist in proving whether the hypothesis is
in accordance with the investigated parameters.
The height of the crop plants will be measured both before the application of
the fertilizer and after the application of the fertilizer. This is done to effectively
measure the effect of the fertilizer on the crops. The measurements of heights of the
crop plants are done just after two weeks when shoots start to emerge from the corn
plant. The second measurement of the height of the corn plants is done after the two
weeks of the application of fertilizer. This study will use the excel spreadsheets since
it is easy to enter the data and formulate it in the form of graphs. The analysis of the
roots and the shoots will be done in the lab and data will be recorded to enable the
analysis. The chlorophyll content of the corn leaves will be tested through the
grounding the corn leaves in a mortar by using the sodium carbonate powder and
quartz in smaller amounts. Ethanol will be used in the mortar and the absorbance
level will be measured.

7MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
Results
Table 1: shows the effect of fertilizer on the different parameters of corn
Input Corn.
Variet
y
Re
p
heigh
t
chlorphyl
l
sht.b
m
rt.bm sht.N rt.N sht.P rt.P sht.
K
rt.K
Control A 1 64 26.8 1.63 0.72 4.12 2.25 0.14
7
0.12
5
5.25 1.3
8
Control A 2 72 28.3 3 1.15 3.42 2.07 0.13
7
0.12
6
4.67 0.7
3
Control A 3 56 28.8 1.17 0.43 4.12 1.61 0.18
7
0.08
6
5.02 0.3
Control A 4 50 32.4 1.3 0.5 4.06 2.18 0.12
9
0.12
7
4.44 0.7
1
Poultry
manure
A 1 94 40.3 10.55 3.42 1.53 1.37 0.17
4
0.14
4
1.77 0.7
6
Poultry
manure
A 2 86 41.1 7.6 2.66 2.26 1.58 0.20
8
0.17
7
2.43 0.6
8
Poultry
manure
A 3 102 41 9.18 2.95 1.61 0.99 0.18
1
0.10
1
2.18 0.5
5
Poultry
manure
A 4 87 40.8 8.79 2.59 2 1.14 0.19
3
0.12
2
2.04 0.5
1
Rock
phosphat
e
A 1 85 40.9 5.36 1.95 3.48 2.42 0.15
1
0.13
3
3.07 0.9
1
Rock
phosphat
e
A 2 81 34.1 2.55 0.94 3.97 2.28 0.16
6
0.13
9
4.16 0.8
3
Rock
phosphat
e
A 3 86 36.6 2.76 1.14 4.15 1.7 0.15
1
0.10
1
4.45 0.3
7
Rock
phosphat
e
A 4 64 34.5 2.39 1.18 3.81 2.28 0.15
3
0.10
8
4.5 0.7
4
Super
phosphat
e
A 1 106 37.5 13.42 3.49 1.94 1.55 0.20
6
0.14
9
1.16 0.4
5
Super
phosphat
e
A 2 102 40.8 12.55 3.33 2.24 1.47 0.16
7
0.11
2
1.12 0.5
3
Super
phosphat
A 3 101 41.5 12.2 1.98 2.14 1.64 0.21
4
0.17
4
1.36 0.4
8

8MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
e
Super
phosphat
e
A 4 100 33.1 10.9 3.37 2.22 1.44 0.19
5
0.18
2
1.22 0.7
3
Control B 1 77 39.6 2.41 0.64 4.17 2.24 0.15
7
0.11
8
5.1 0.5
Control B 2 57 36.2 1 0.15 3.87 1.97 0.12
6
0.10
9
5.18 0.4
4
Control B 3 64 32.6 1.56 0.31 4.09 1.72 0.14 0.10
3
4.58 0.1
6
Control B 4 50 36.9 1.12 0.21 4.32 1.38 0.15
8
0.06
5
5.78 0.1
1
Poultry
manure
B 1 99 45.5 9.96 2.46 1.65 1.33 0.15
6
0.13
7
1.86 0.4
8
Poultry
manure
B 2 115 49.3 9.56 1.38 1.58 1.47 0.15
9
0.13
9
1.98 0.6
3
Poultry
manure
B 3 107 46.1 11.49 1.66 1.35 1.16 0.16
8
0.11
5
1.76 0.3
3
Poultry
manure
B 4 111 48.5 10.3 1.79 1.74 1.32 0.16
5
0.12
6
1.88 0.5
1
Rock
phosphat
e
B 1 104 40.2 4.61 1.23 3.87 3 0.15
6
0.15
1
3.12 0.5
8
Rock
phosphat
e
B 2 95 40.4 3.27 0.58 4.43 1.78 0.14
8
0.12
3
3.98 0.3
4
Rock
phosphat
e
B 3 88 40.4 2.92 0.5 4.05 1.5 0.17
2
0.08
8
4.23 0.2
5
Rock
phosphat
e
B 4 85 39.1 3.38 0.55 4.03 1.43 0.16
6
0.07
7
4.03 0.2
Super
phosphat
e
B 1 117 45.4 13.99 2.2 2.25 1.73 0.19
6
0.13
2
1.25 0.3
8
Super
phosphat
e
B 2 120 43.6 14.09 1.72 2.19 1.6 0.21
3
0.12
3
1.28 0.4
8
Super
phosphat
e
B 3 111 41.6 12.58 2.08 2.32 1.51 0.17
8
0.12
8
1.3 0.3
6
Super
phosphat
e
B 4 100 41.8 13.82 2.33 2.37 1.96 0.18
3
0.13
7
1.23 0.5
3
Control C 1 31 28.3 0.54 0.42 4.21 2.22 0.11
9
0.09
5
4.34 1.2
2
Control C 2 48 32.7 1.16 0.68 3.63 2.2 0.12 0.10 4.05 1.0

9MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
2 5 2
Control C 3 49 30.8 1.15 0.47 4.31 1.74 0.14
6
0.1 4.72 0.3
Control C 4 38 31 1.05 0.45 3.7 1.82 0.12
8
0.06
8
4.09 0.5
7
Poultry
manure
C 1 89 42.6 7.87 2.52 1.89 1.44 0.14
8
0.12
5
1.97 0.6
9
Poultry
manure
C 2 98 43.3 9.33 2.73 1.67 1.41 0.12
3
0.11
5
1.62 0.6
2
Poultry
manure
C 3 99 42.1 6.54 1.51 2.21 1.52 0.18
2
0.13
3
2.61 0.3
6
Poultry
manure
C 4 89 41.9 7.83 2.94 1.79 1.26 0.17 0.10
5
2.01 0.6
2
Rock
phosphat
e
C 1 78 36.6 3.19 1.51 3.52 2.75 0.14
1
0.12
6
3.77 0.9
3
Rock
phosphat
e
C 2 75 36.6 2.95 0.93 3.93 2.59 0.14
6
0.11
3
3.89 0.6
1
Rock
phosphat
e
C 3 77 37.4 3.46 1.28 3.78 2.56 0.15 0.12
2
3.93 0.6
8
Rock
phosphat
e
C 4 60 37 1.76 0.7 4.31 1.43 0.18 0.09
6
4.22 0.3
1
Super
phosphat
e
C 1 113 41.4 13.02 3.43 1.95 1.78 0.21
2
0.15
1
1.26 0.5
9
Super
phosphat
e
C 2 110 43.7 13.75 2.92 2.06 1.42 0.20
6
0.13
5
1.14 0.4
8
Super
phosphat
e
C 3 108 39.6 12.31 2.66 2.14 1.44 0.18
2
0.11
7
1.31 0.5
Super
phosphat
e
C 4 120 39.6 12.85 2.62 2.06 1.49 0.22
4
0.13
5
1.29 0.4
8
Control D 1 62 30.3 1.43 0.75 4.42 2.03 0.11
6
0.08
4
3.65 0.9
7
Control D 2 84 36.4 3.43 1.28 3.83 2.23 0.13
3
0.08
8
3.55 0.8
7
Control D 3 61 33 1.29 0.64 4.04 2.04 0.13 0.07
2
3.98 1
Control D 4 64 34.2 1.56 0.69 4.27 1.33 0.14
3
0.05
6
4.07 0.2
8

10MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
Poultry
manure
D 1 107 38.9 12.22 4.11 1.58 1.17 0.13
7
0.10
3
1.39 0.4
8
Poultry
manure
D 2 114 37.3 12.45 3.72 1.27 1.17 0.14
8
0.09
8
1.41 0.5
5
Poultry
manure
D 3 112 41.6 12.55 2.81 1.58 1.18 0.14
8
0.10
3
1.42 0.4
9
Poultry
manure
D 4 109 41.3 9.63 2.34 2.09 1.35 0.16
3
0.1 1.74 0.7
3
Rock
phosphat
e
D 1 95 40.5 4.53 1.5 3.92 1.86 0.14
9
0.09
9
3 0.6
2
Rock
phosphat
e
D 2 88 39.4 3 0.94 3.98 2.15 0.15
9
0.10
7
3.85 0.7
1
Rock
phosphat
e
D 3 94 38 3.83 1.27 3.82 1.91 0.13
6
0.07
4
3.31 0.4
9
Rock
phosphat
e
D 4 88 37.8 3.93 1.24 3.81 1.7 0.14
7
0.06 3.06 0.3
6
Super
phosphat
e
D 1 111 40.5 14.36 4.24 2.14 1.33 0.17
3
0.10
4
1.02 0.4
7
Super
phosphat
e
D 2 115 47.4 15.65 3.67 1.78 1.32 0.16
8
0.09
9
0.98 0.5
Super
phosphat
e
D 3 115 41.4 14.84 4.2 1.79 1.18 0.17
6
0.09
1
1.1 0.3
2
Super
phosphat
e
D 4 112 45.4 14.55 3.32 2.13 1.15 0.17
2
0.09
2
1.06 0.4
2

11MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE
A A A A B B B B C C C C D D D D
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
94 86
102
87
99
115 107 111
89 98 99
89
107 114 112 109
40.3 41.1 41 40.8 45.5 49.3 46.1 48.5 42.6 43.3 42.1 41.9 38.9 37.3 41.6 41.3
Effect of poultry manure on Corn Plants
replicate number height chlorophyll
Varieties of Corn
Figure 1: Effect of poultry manure on different varieties of corn plants (height in cm)
A A A A B B B B C C C C D D D D
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
106 102 101 100
117 120 111
100
113 110 108
120 111 115 115 112
37.5 40.8 41.5 33.1
45.4 43.6 41.6 41.8 41.4 43.7 39.6 39.6 40.5 47.4 41.4 45.4
Effect of Super Phosphate on Corn Plant
replicate number height chlorophyll
Varieties of Corn
Figure 2: Effect of super phosphate on different varieties of corn plants (height in cm)