A study of effect allelopathy on the growth of mustard seeds.

I. Identifying the Context

Research Question

How does adding dried and crushed mint leaves- Mentha piperita (weighed in grams) affect the growth of

germinated mustard seeds- Brassica nigra over the period of 7 days? What does it inform us about the effect Commented [AR1]: A clear research question is stated.

of allelopathy?

Environmental Issue

The loss of biodiversity as allelochemicals do not allow forest species to regenerate, may lead to reduction in

crop yields and compete for resources. Also, the fact that certain invasive species of plants have the ability to

release allelochemicals and become allelopathic to grow successfully in a new environment. Sometimes few

plants show allelopathic potential towards on type of crop but not towards the other. For example,

Leucaena species is allelopathic and causes damage to wheat crop but improves the yield of certain varieties

of rice. Research in this field has also proven that allelopathic potential also gets affected by abiotic factor like

temperature and biotic factor like infestation by fungi. In both the cases allelopathy increase. Hence, it is

crucial to understand the mechanism by which the allelochemicals work and cause damage to plants. Commented [AR2]: CXT: Connects a natural phenomena
to becoming an environmental issue that is linked to the RQ.

Introduction

Currently, India is recognized as one of the mega-diverse country, according to the study done by S.K

Agarwal. The work presented in undertaken as I grew an interest to study more about the plant diversity when

we attended the ESS field trip. It very well connects to our ESS syllabus as well that is species interactions

which I was already intrigued by. An average of about 45,000 plant species are found in India’s fabulous

biodiversity representing 7% of the flora of the world. A chemical war between plants levied by one plant to

another to suppress the latter and to take advantage of the repression is very common in the plant diversity

due to allelopathy. Although” allelopathy” is an interesting phenomenon not a lot of people have heard about

it. It has introduced different forms of ecological and environmental crises to the world today as it highly

influences the distribution and evolution of other species. A specific advantage to allelopathy is that it is

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nature’s weed killer. It has consanguineous association with the conservation of forestry and horticulture and

is now drawing more international attention.

Connection of Environmental Issue to Research Question

Plants are aggressive in defending their resources hence majorly effecting the biodiversity, as allelopathy is

natural and is capable in poisoning the soil by exuding toxic chemicals called allelotoxins which prevents the

vegetative growth of the seed. As plants are not capable of moving from one place to another, they rely highly

on allelotoxins as their protective strategies as releasing these chemical toxins assures that intruding roots

from other species do not grow. Competition can be stated as a negative effect on another and can be both

intraspecific and interspecific causing a decline in the biodiversity. Commented [AR3]: CXT: Valid point and hence a global
environmental concern.

To investigate the issue, mint leaves (Mentha piperita) work as allelopathy and to check its effect on the

growth level, they were sprinkled on another set of plant species that is mustard seeds (Brassica nigra) after

they were germinated.

II. Planning

Null hypothesis:

The increasing concentration of allelopathy (crushed mint leaves- Mentha piperita) on mustard plants

(Brassica nigra) will not affect its growth.

Alternative hypothesis:

There will be some effect on the growth of mustard plants (Brassica nigra) as mint leaves (Mentha piperita)

has allelopathic ability. Commented [AR4]: Hypotheses are linked to RQ.

Justification with Hypothesis

The overall growth of the mustard plant (Brassica nigra) will reduce when excessive crushed mint leaves

(Mentha piperita) is poured and vice versa.

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Variables Identification and Explanation Commented [AR5]: PLA: Variables are identified correctly.
How the dependent and independent variables are
measured in consistent manner is missing.
Independent variable: The mass of crushed mint leaves (Mentha piperita) in grams.

Dependent variable: The height of the mustard plant (Brassica nigra) in cm.

Control variable: Amount of water and soil used, number of days, number of seeds and the temperature at

which the investigation is carried out.

Variable How will it be controlled Commented [AR6]: Control variable explained well.

The intensity of sunlight In order to ensure that there is a constant rate of

photosynthesis for all the plants, the plants were kept in

the same area where they received equal amount of

sunlight.

The amount of soil In order to ensure that plants don’t receive extra nutrients

which would help in the rapid growth of the plant. Each

pot was filled with 100 grams of soil.

The number of seeds In order to receive accurate measurements, it is important

it is important to have a specific number from which the

plants are grown. 3 seeds were counted and planted in each

pot.

Materials Required:

The quantities that have been mentioned is to perform one trial

To form the mint powder:

• Grinder

• 30 dried mint leaves

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 • 2 plastic bags to collect the powder

• Plastic spoons

For the plantation of mustard seeds

• 7 identical plastic pots

• 70 mustard seeds

• 700 gm Garden soil

• Shovel

• Ruler

• Measuring cylinder

• Markers for labelling the pots

Procedure

To form the mint powder

1. Pluck mint leaves from the Mint plant

2. Dry the leaves by leaving it in a sunny place.

3. Place the leaves in the grinder till they are in small particles.

4. Store the particles of the leaves in 2 different packets equally.

5. Calculation of the concentration in grams.

Germination, Plantation and Measurements of the growth Commented [AR7]: PLA: The method for data collection is
good but only 3 trials are done though the trial is carried out
for seven days.
1. Divide the 21 seeds into different petri dishes. Sufficient data collection could be done if trials were carried
out for reliability.

2. Add 50 𝑚𝑙 of water into the petri dishes and leave the seeds to germinate for a day.

3. Add 100 𝑔 soil into 6 pots of the same dimensions.

4. Now, add the 3 seeds into the pot by lowering them into the soil at a particular distance and

add 2 𝑐𝑚 thick soil on top of it.

5. Label the 6 pots with its respective masses of crushed mint leaves (control, 1g, 1.5g,2 g, 2.5g,

3g, 3.5g)
4
 6. Measure the powered mint leaves that was stored in the plastic bags and add them into labelled

pots.

7. Water the plants for 7 days every morning and evening.

8. Record the height of the plant in every 24 hours.

9. Repeat the steps for trial 2 and trial 3.

10. Keep one pot where no mint leave is added. This is a control sample.

Apparatus Set-up

Risk assessment and ethical consideration Commented [AR8]: Ethical consideration done.
The dried plants could be disposed off safely as it contains
allelotoxins.
There are possible sources of risk, the germinated seeds can be planted inconsistent depths from one pot to

another. Avoid using different types of soil and lastly, as the soil can consist of different organisms make sure

none of them are hurt and are released into their natural habitat using a spoon. However, the purpose of this

report is solely for educational purposes and using data from reliable sources is crucial. To ensure that the

information provided in the report is reliable.

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III. Result, analysis and Conclusion

Control

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.6

3 4 4.1 4.1 4.1

4 5.2 5.5 5.4 5.4

5 7 6.8 7.1 7

6 8.2 8.3 8.1 8.2

7 9.3 9 9.2 9.2

1.0 grams

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.5

3 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.9

4 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.6

5 6.9 6.6 6.7 6.7

6 8 7.9 8.1 8

7 8.9 9 8.8 8.9

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 1.5 grams

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.2 1.7 1.4 1.4

3 3.8 3.5 3.7 3.7

4 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.1

5 6.8 6.5 6.6 6.6

6 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.7

7 8.8 8.6 8.7 8.7

2.0 grams

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.4

3 3.6 3.7 3.4 3.4

4 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.3

5 6.7 6.6 6.5 6.6

6 7.7 7.5 7.4 7.5

7 8.6 8.4 8.3 8.4

7
 2.5 grams

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3

3 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.3

4 4.2 4 4.3 4.2

5 6.3 6.1 6.3 6.3

6 7.6 7.4 7.2 7.4

7 8.1 8 8.3 8.1

3.0 grams

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.1 1 1.2 1.1

3 3.3 3.1 3 3.1

4 4 3.9 3.7 3.9

5 6.2 6.2 6 6.2

6 7.2 6.9 6.8 6.9

7 7.8 7.5 7.4 7.5

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 3.5 grams

Height (cm)

Day Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg

1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 1.1 0.8 1 0.8

3 3.2 2.8 3 2.8

4 3.7 3.4 3.5 3.5

5 6 5.8 5.7 5.8

6 6.5 6.7 6.3 6.5

7 7.3 7.6 7.1 7.1

Processed Data

Height of the plant by the end of the week

Mass (in g) of mint leaves added Avg height (in cm)

1 8.9

1.5 8.7

2 8.4

2.5 8.1

3 7.5

3.5 7.1

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 Mass of mint leaves added vs height of the plant
10
9
8
7
Avg height (cm)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Mass (in g) of mint leaves added

Mass (in g) of mint leaves added Avg height (cm)

Graph showing average height of the mustard plant (in cm) after adding mint leaves Commented [AR9]: RAC: The graph shows correlation
between the variables.
Error is just while measuring the height which is negligible.
Justification of values of error

The value of error in the uncertainty in the ruler (the apparatus) that is used to measure the height of the grass.

The uncertainty of the ruler is half of the least count.

Calculating Pearson Correlation Coefficient

Pearson Correlation Coefficient presents a value between ±1 which helps to understand the strength of the

relationship between the two variables i.e. the height of the plant (in cm) and the mass of the crushed mint

leaves (in g).

Pearson Correlation Coefficient Formula

X = mass of the crushed mint leaves

Y= height of the plant

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Figure 1: Represents the value of X and Y values

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12
To obtain the correlation coefficient, correlation coefficient calculator available on google was used. When

the value of r is closer to 1 it shows a positive relationship and when r is closer to -1, which has been calculated

in this study where r= -0.9854. There is a strong negative relationship between the two variables X and Y. A

negative correlation relationship is when the variables move in inverse that is an increase in one variable (X)

will lead to a decrease or decline in the other variable (Y). Through the experiment, there was a clear idea that

the growth of the plant varied with increasing concentrations of allelochemicals in the soil which is also visible Commented [AR10]: RAC: Conclusion is used on the data
collected and the
Correlation is explained based on the values obtained.
in Figure 1 as it shows the relation between the mass of the crushed leaves and the height of the plant at the
If more trials were done, the reliability would have been
more.
end of the week, we can see a decline in the graph. When the mass of the crushed mint leaves was at the

maximized that is, when 3.5 grams were sprinkled on the pot then a depreciation in the height of the plant was

noticed (0.0, 0.8, 2.8, 3.5 ,5.8, 6.5 ,7.1) and certainly was most effected than the rest of the pots with different

variation starting from constant, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3.

Conclusion

The purpose of the report is to investigate the how a large mass of allelopathy has an effect on the growth of

the plant and its effect on the biodiversity. According to the data collected, the null hypothesis will be rejected

as the overall growth of the mustard plant reduced when excessive crushed mint leaves was powered and when

a small amount of crushed mint leaves was powered, we saw a higher growth in the mustard plant. This

indicates that allelochemicals absorb the minerals that is needed for the growth of the mustard plant leading

to a competition between both. It is predicted that the growth of the plant in pot 1(1 grams) and in the constant

pot is more or less the same as a small mass is sprinkled having less effect on the growth. Between constant

and pot 4(2 grams), the plants are able to sustain and have healthy to mediocre growth but between pot 4(2

grams) and pot 6 (3.5 grams) the plants are worse-off. Commented [AR11]: Conclusion is clearly stated.

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IV. Discussion and Evaluation

This conclusion shows that allelopathy has both advantage and disadvantages in the biodiversity. Firstly, for

a long – term stability of an ecosystem allelopathy might come in use as it helps many trees to protect their

space by not allowing other plants to thrive in the same ecosystem but on its contrary allelopathy also results

in soil sickness and can cause a limit in the food chain as only the allelopathy plants will survive. While there

are potential benefits to the farmers to kill the weed but that is only when a small concertation of

allelochemicals is being used.

Strength, Weakness and Limitations of the method Commented [AR12]: DEV: Has discussed the strength and
limitation of the method and modifications that can be used
for further research.
The strengths of this investigation are the feasibility of the procedure, which was quickly completed in the

specific environment, provided adequate evidence and can be effectively replicated in various habitats. The

shortcomings of the land are drawback of this investigation are that there is some uncertainty in the water

available to the plants as it decreases soil moisture and allelopathy can also increase the risk of diseases. The

other limitation is that the method only confirms that mint leaves are allelopathic but it is difficult to find the

concentration and the active ingredient that makes mint allelopathic. To be sure of this further investigation

has to be carried out which is beyond the scope of this IA.

Potential solution to the environmental issue

Allelopathy by invasive species and can have a major effect on the biodiversity as they are capable of causing

damage and outcompeting the native plants. It is said that once an invasive species is established itself in any

local environment it causes damage to endemic plant species and it is impossible to eliminate it. By monitoring

wildlife imported in any country at all the designated wildlife ports we can control this problem to some extent. Commented [AR13]: APP: Possible limitation of
application is discussed.
Gardening the native species in one owns garden as they can easily adapt and enrich the biodiversity is another

way to prevent the negative impacts of allelochemicals. The local government or the community organizations

can also educate the local people to identify invasive species in their locality.

On the other hand, allelochemistry can be studied in laboratories to aid in controlling weeds that grow along

with crops and result in poor yields. An allelopathic crop which acts as a weed killer should be used in

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rotational sequence, or smothered as residue or left as mulch where low-tiling method is adopted to control

uncontrollable growth of weeds. For example, rye mulch and white mustard (Sinapis alba) seed meal have

proved to be befitting in suppressing weeds. Alternatively, use of allelopathic compounds in various stages of

crop production could augment the overall effect of synthetic herbicides leading to less dependence on non-

selective synthetic herbicides that have deleterious effect on environment. Commented [AR14]: APP: The application of the
investigation in real life is clearly mentioned.

Word count: 2018 Commented [AR15]: COM: logical, well structured report
that is easy to comprehend and has subject specific
terminologies used fairly well.

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Bibliography:

1. "Forest Biodiversity Conservation Study of Indian Himalayan Eco-sensitive Sites." Forest

Biodiversity Conservation Study of Indian Himalayan Eco-sensitive Sites. Web.

Allelopathy, csip.cornell.edu/Projects/CEIRP/AR/Allelopathy.htm.

2. Shmoop Editorial Team. “Threats to Biodiversity: Invasive Species Help | Conservation Biology

Study Guide.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/study-

guides/biology/conservation-biology/threats-invasive-species.

3. Admin. “A Guide for the IB ESS IA - ESS- Environmental Systems and Societies.” ESS, 5 Aug.

2019, www.esstutor.net/ess/a-guide-for-the-ib-ess-ia/.

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