Evaluating Plant Response to Root Application of Growth Regulators

The dataset presents measurements from an experimental study aimed at understanding how various hormones affect plant growth when applied to the roots. The primary focus is on two hormones: Kinetin and Gibberellic Acid, with observations made before and after treatment on seedling height (root length) and leaf pair count. Data is collected across multiple samples labeled A-I. This analysis seeks to identify which hormone leads to more significant growth changes in terms of both root extension and foliar development. By comparing pre- and post-treatment metrics for each sample, the study aims to provide insights into the efficacy of these hormones in promoting seedling growth, potentially guiding future agricultural practices or scientific inquiries into plant developmental biology.

Running Head: GROWTH OF PLANTS
The Effect of IAA, Gibberellic Acid and Kinetin on Growth of Intact Pea Seedlings
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GROWTH OF PLANTS
Abstract
Test has been done in a lab on 15-day old pea seedlings over four different lab sessions. The
growth of the seedlings has been observed after application of the three hormones Indole Acetic
Acid (IAA), Kinetin and Gibberellic Acid (GA) along with distilled water. The heights before
and after application of the hormones and their difference in increase on the application of
different hormones has been tested. The difference in the increase in the heights and the number
of leaf pairs after leaf and root treatment has been tested using the technique of one-way
ANOVA.

2GROWTH OF PLANTS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Results..............................................................................................................................................3
Discussion......................................................................................................................................10
Methods and Materials..................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12
Appendices....................................................................................................................................13

3GROWTH OF PLANTS
Introduction
Pea seeds is one of the most important seedlings that are used in our daily lives as pulse
as well as vegetables while cooking. The nutritious value of the seed is very high as it contains
proteins, vitamins A and K, carbohydrates, calcium and phosphorous (Bateson & Mendel, 2013).
Gibberellic Acid is a hormone that is produced by plants and fungi and helps in the
growth of plant cells (Puyam et al., 2017). Indole Acetic Acid is also a plant hormone and is
synthesized by the plants in their root tips (Duca et al., 2014). This acid is essential in signaling
the molecules that help in plant growth. Kinetin is a type of cytokinin which enhances the cell
division in plants. All these hormones are useful in the growth of pea seedlings (Raut et al.,
2015).
Results
ANOVA test has been done to test the difference increase in the heights and the number
of leaf pairs on application of the hormones IAA, GA and Kinetin in different lab sessions. The
following hypothesis can be framed to test the requirement mentioned above.
Null Hypothesis (H01): There is no significant difference in mean heights of the plants after leaf
treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Alternate Hypothesis (HA1): There is significant difference in mean heights of the plants after
leaf treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Table 1: Mean Height: Leaf Treatment: SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
IAA 9 29.18 3.24 0.06
Kinetin 9 28.24 3.14 0.14
GA 9 84.60 9.40 0.61

4GROWTH OF PLANTS
Table 2: Mean Height: Leaf Treatment: ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 231.482 2 115.741 427.076 0.000 3.403
Within Groups 6.504 24 0.271
Total 237.986 26
A B C D E F G H I
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
Mean Increase in Height (Leaf Treatment)
Water IAA Kinetin GA
Trays
Increase in Height (in cm)
Figure 1: Mean Increase in heights after leaf treatment
Null Hypothesis (H02): There is no significant difference in mean heights of the plants after root
treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Alternate Hypothesis (HA2): There is significant difference in mean heights of the plants after
root treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Table 3: Mean Height: Root Treatment: SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
IAA 9 26.96 3.00 0.04
Kinetin 9 29.28 3.25 0.04
GA 9 28.99 3.22 0.06

5GROWTH OF PLANTS
Table 4: Mean Height: Root Treatment: ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 0.357 2 0.178 3.946 0.033 3.403
Within Groups 1.084 24 0.045
Total 1.441 26
A B C D E F G H I
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Mean increase in Height (Root Treatment)
Water IAA Kinetin GA
Trays
Increase in heights (in cm)
Figure 2: Mean Increase in heights after root treatment
Null Hypothesis (H03): There is no significant difference in the number of leaf pairs of the plants
after leaf treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Alternate Hypothesis (HA3): There is no significant difference in the number of leaf pairs of the
plants after leaf treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Table 5: Mean Number of Leaves: Leaf Treatment: SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
IAA 9 48.83 5.43 0.67
Kinetin 9 31.60 3.51 0.12
GA 9 37.17 4.13 0.19
Table 6: Mean Number of Leaves: Leaf Treatment: ANOVA

6GROWTH OF PLANTS
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 17.181 2 8.591 26.297 0.000 3.403
Within Groups 7.840 24 0.327
Total 25.022 26
A B C D E F G H I
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
Mean increase in number of leaf pairs (Leaf Treatment)
Water
IAA
Kinetin
GA
Trays
Increase in number of leaf pairs
Figure 3: Mean Increase in number of leaf pairs after leaf treatment
Null Hypothesis (H04): There is no significant difference in the number of leaf pairs of the plants
after root treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Alternate Hypothesis (HA4): There is no significant difference in the number of leaf pairs of the
plants after root treatment on application of different types of hormones.
Table 7: Mean Number of Leaves: Root Treatment: SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
IAA 9 29.25 3.25 0.09
Kinetin 9 30.35 3.37 0.12
GA 9 27.17 3.02 0.37
Table 8: Mean Number of Leaves: Root Treatment: ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit

7GROWTH OF PLANTS
Between Groups 0.582 2 0.291 1.507 0.242 3.403
Within Groups 4.637 24 0.193
Total 5.219 26
A B C D E F G H I
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
Mean increase in Number of leaf pairs (Root Treatment)
Water
IAA
Kinetin
GA
Trays
Increase in the number of leaf pairs
Figure 4: Mean Increase in number of leaf pairs after root treatment
Discussion
The test results for the first hypothesis H01 are given in tables 1 and 2. The p value is
found to be 0.000 which is less than the level of significance (0.05). Thus, there is enough
evidence to claim that the null hypothesis is rejected. The mean heights of plants after
application of different hormones in leaf treatment differ significantly.
The test results for the first hypothesis H03 are given in tables 3 and 4. The p value is
found to be 0.033 which is less than the level of significance (0.05). Thus, there is enough
evidence to claim that the null hypothesis is rejected. The mean increase in heights of plants after
application of different hormones in root treatment differ significantly.

8GROWTH OF PLANTS
The test results for the first hypothesis H05 are given in tables 5 and 6. The p value is
found to be 0.000 which is less than the level of significance (0.05). Thus, there is enough
evidence to claim that the null hypothesis is rejected. The mean increase in the number of leaf
pairs of plants after application of different hormones in leaf treatment do not differ significantly.
The test results for the first hypothesis H07 are given in tables 7 and 8. The p value is
found to be 0.242 which is more than the level of significance (0.05). Thus, there is not enough
evidence to claim that the null hypothesis is rejected. The mean increase in the number of leaf
pairs of plants after application of different hormones in root treatment differ significantly.
Methods and Materials
There are five major categories of plant hormones among which three have been selected
for this research. These are Indole Acetic Acid, Kinetin and Gibberellin. These hormones along
with distilled water have been applied to seedlings in 8 trays in four different lab sessions. Their
measurements were taken before the application of the hormones as well as after the four lab
sessions. The differences were recorded and tested accordingly.

9GROWTH OF PLANTS
References
Bateson, W., & Mendel, G. (2013). Mendel's principles of heredity. Courier Corporation.
Duca, D., Lorv, J., Patten, C. L., Rose, D., & Glick, B. R. (2014). Indole-3-acetic acid in plant–
microbe interactions. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 106(1), 85-125.
Puyam, A., Pannu, P. P. S., Kaur, J., & Sethi, S. (2017). VARIABILITY IN PRODUCTION OF
GIBBERELLIC ACID AND FUSARIC ACID BY FUSARIUM MONILIFORME AND
THEIR RELATIONSHIP. Journal of Plant Pathology, 99(1).
Raut, R. V., Dhande, G. A., Rajput, J. C., & Ingale, A. G. (2015). Rapid and highly competent
shoot regeneration of Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) using variable explants by in vitro
culture system. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 4(4), 1.

10GROWTH OF PLANTS
Appendices
Group Data Tables
Initial Measurements of Seedlings before treatment Leaf
Hormone: IAA
A B C D E F G H I
Height
1 6 8.5 7.25 8.5 7.75 6.75 7.5 6.75 7.25
Height
2 2.65 3.575 3.575 4.03333 3.5333
3 4.43333 3.95 3.675 3.66667
Height
3 3.85 3.675 3.925 3.575 4.325 3.9 3.725 4.225 3.9
Height
4 5.625 4.725 3.9666
7 5.7 4.975 4.725 5.25 5.05 4.375
Leaf
pairs 1 7.5 7 7 8 7 7 7 6.5 7.5
Leaf
pairs 2 4.5 6.25 9.5 8.33333 7.3333
3 7 6.25 6.75 6
Leaf
pairs 3 9.25 9.25 9 9 10.25 9.5 10.5 10.25 9
Leaf
pairs 4 9.75 9.5 7 10 8.75 9 10.25 9.75 8.5
Height in cm.

11GROWTH OF PLANTS
Initial Measurements of Seedlings before treatment Leaf
Hormone: Kinetin
A B C D E F G H I
Height
1 6.2 5.9 5.0 6.5 6.5 6.3 7.2 6.5 7.3
Height
2 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.1 5.8 5.8 5.4 3.8 4.7
Height
3 5.1 4.9 4.9 5.0 5.2 5.3 4.9 5.1 4.2
Height
4 6.9 5.8 7.2 6.7 8.1 7.9 4.8 6.9 8.0
Leaf
pairs 1 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 10.0 8.0 8.5 8.0 8.0
Leaf
pairs 2 9.8 8.0 8.8 9.0 9.8 9.8 10.3 10.0 10.5
Leaf
pairs 3 7.7 8.3 7.8 7.5 7.7 7.8 8.0 8.0 7.5
Leaf
pairs 4 9.3 8.0 9.5 10.0 12.0 12.5 7.7 12.0 10.5
Height in cm.