Fbs-161 Plant Anatomy Lab exercise # 1

FREE HAND SECTIONING

Prepared by: Joseph C. Paquit

INTRODUCTION Free hand sectioning is a microtechnique or method of preparing portions of the media to be studied by manual cutting. It is one of the simplest methods in preparing specimens for microscopic viewing. It often provides an adequate method for rapid and inexpensive microscopic observation of plant internal structure. Basically it involves the use of sharp blade to slice a very thin section of the media. Free hand sectioning is commonly restricted to plant specimens that are easy to cut. Moreover, this very simple technique that when precisely executed, often results in high quality images. OBJECTIVES 1. To familiarize free hand sectioning 2. To prepare free-hand cross sections of root, stem and leaf of Bagalunga (Melia azedarach) MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material Roots, stem and leaves of Bagalunga (Melia azedarach) were used for the study: Root, stem and leaves were taken from a naturally growing seedling of Bagalunga at the UPLB College of Forestry and Natural Resources tree Nursery. Sectioning Samples for observation were prepared by standard free-hand sectioning. The sections were cut with smooth strokes and placed on a petri plate with water to keep the samples fresh. The same procedure was done until the desired sample is achieved. The sample was then finally mounted on a microscope slide for observation. Photography Sections were observed with a microscope (Olympus CX21). Images were manually recorded using a built in 3 megapixel camera from a cell phone.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION A B

C Figure1. Non- stained free hand cross sections of stem (A), root (B) and leaf (C) of Bagalunga (Melia azedarach) under 10 x magnification. Free hand sectioning has proven to be an effective method in observing plant internal structures. The clear advantage of this method is the simplicity, do not require the use of extra instruments other than microscope, and usually results to better output. Most plants are either too large or too thick to be clearly viewed under the microscope. In order to study the structural organization of plant parts such as stem, root and leaves, sections have to be made. The purpose is for light to be effectively transmitted and penetrate though the specimen to view the structure under observation. As shown above, different structures are shown within different plant organs. Direct observation on the microscopic images will give us a view of clear distinction between the 3 types of tissues, the dermal, ground and vascular tissue. This exercise as a whole teach us properly undertake free hand sectioning without much regard on the identification of specific parts under observation. This is a real preparatory activity for a more appreciative works on plant anatomy.