The Effects of Used Spent Coffee Grounds on the Growth of ​Brassica rapa

Blerina Iljas, Daniel Bell, Eric Nguyen and Sarah Tran

Organismal Biology 140-03

November 14, 2019

Abstract:

There is conflicting information about the benefits or harms of using spent coffee
grounds (SCG) in place of fertilizer. If spent coffee grounds improve plant growth, this
substitution could provide a possible alternative and sustainable source of soil enrichment. In this
experiment, spent coffee grounds were added to soil in three different ratios (17%, 33% and 50%
coffee) to test the effects of those additions on the growth of ​Brassica rapa.​ It is hypothesized
that when coffee grounds are incorporated at low levels (17%), ​Brassica rapa​ will grow at an
increased rate. If coffee grounds are added at high levels (50%), plant growth will be impeded
due to phytotoxicity, and at an intermediate concentration of coffee (33%), it will result in a
relatively consistent growth rate. Three groups with varying proportions of coffee grounds were
compared to a control group grown in soil with no amendments. However, all four groups
contained approximately the same amount of soil. Measurements of plant height were recorded
weekly for five weeks. At the end of the five weeks, the total mass of freshly harvested plant
growth was measured for each of the four groups. The results were highly varied and
inconclusive. It is recommended that future experiments should be completed with improved
research methods.

Introduction:

In recent years, evidence is growing about the negative environmental and health impacts
of the use of inorganic chemical fertilizers. Concerns for the environment have also sparked
interest in the reduction of waste, with attempts to recycle or repurpose waste products whenever
possible. These recent shifts in opinion, combined with the fact that the world produces SCG in
large amounts (Campos-Vega et al., 2015) have led to research into the use of spent coffee
grounds as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers. Many nutrients are required for plant growth;
Casierra-Posada and others (2017) describe that iron is one of these important nutrients.
Morikawa and Saigusa (2008) provided evidence that SCG improve the availability of iron to the
plants. This shows that incorporating SCG may have a positive effect on plant growth. However,
further studies show differing results. In another experiment conducted by Hardgrove and
Livesley (2016), they found that at low volumes (2.5%), SCG prevented the growth of certain
vegetables and flowering plants. This conclusion contradicts our hypothesis that low
concentration of spent coffee grounds promote an increase in plant growth. Similarly, findings in
a study conducted by Turek, Freitas and Armindo emphasized that at high concentrations of
SCG, the development of plants was hindered (2019). This reinforces the idea that SCG can have
a negative effect on plant growth, but only at high concentrations. Furthermore, at high enough
levels, it may result in a noticeable decrease in the total mass. This supports our hypothesis that
high concentrations of SCG impede plant growth. One explanation for this phenomena is it could
be caused by the nature of coffee grounds; coffee grounds may cause nutrient toxicity to occur,
and as a result, may interfere with plant growth (Cervera-Mata et al., 2019). A second
explanation for this phenomena would be there was an excess of iron built up which stunned the
growth of the plants (Casierra-Posada et al., 2017). Overall both extremes have a negative effect
on plant growth.This raises a new question of how much coffee grounds should be added such
that it will still have a positive effect, but not impede plant growth. The present experiment tests
this underlying question. In this experiment, if SCG are found to improve growth of ​Brassica
rapa​, this would suggest that SCG may be used as a soil amendment for other plants including
food crops. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects that various levels of
additions of spent coffee grounds to potting soil would have on the growth of ​Brassica rapa.​
Spent coffee grounds were added to the soil in three ratios to test the potential impacts of
caffeine phytotoxicity at the higher ratios of coffee grounds to soil, with the expectation that
lower ratios of spent coffee grounds may provide growth benefits while higher ratios would
impede growth.

Methods and Materials:

In preparation for the experiment, three pots of Starbucks Pikes Peak coffee were brewed
(which turned out to be too much for this experiment; the grounds from one 12 cup pot would
have sufficed). The wet, spent coffee grounds were spread out in a thin layer on paper towels to
dry over the course of two days. The objective was to measure the dry weight of the grounds in
order to determine the needed ratio of soil to coffee grounds. This may also be a practical
consideration; if spent coffee grounds were to be packaged for use as a soil amendment, it may
be necessary to dry it first to prevent mold growth. Eight styrofoam quads (with 32
compartments in total) were used as the plant containers, and they were able to hold about one
gram of soil in each compartment. A diamond wick was inserted into the hole in the bottom of
each compartment with half of the wick sticking out from the hole. A digital scale was used to
measure out the quantities of soil and coffee grounds, and four groups of eight compartments
each were created. The eight compartments in the first (or control) group consisted of 0.90 grams
of potting soil. Each of the eight compartments in the second group (A) consisted of a mix of
0.15 grams of SCG and 0.75 grams of potting soil (17% coffee). Each of the eight compartments
in the third group (B) consisted of a mix of 0.30 grams of SCG and 0.50 grams of potting soil
(33% coffee). Each of the 8 compartments in the fourth group (C) consisted of a mix of 0.45
grams of SCG and 0.45 grams of potting soil (50% coffee). In all cases, the soil and coffee
grounds were thoroughly mixed before placing them in the compartments. A single seed was
placed in each of the 32 compartments, below about 1/3 of the total depth of soil. A plastic
container was filled about 2/3 full of water and one algaecide tablet was added to the water to
prevent algae growth. A felt wick mat was pre-wetted and was laid completely across a lid that
was placed over the plastic container and the remaining portion of the felt wick mat was in the
water inside the container. The styrofoam quads were placed on top of the wick mat and lid. The
entire apparatus was placed under a four foot wide lighting strip. Measurements of plant height
were taken at one-week intervals using a metric ruler. Pictures were also taken at each
measurement period to document plant growth. At the end of the experiment, plants from each
group were harvested separately by cutting the plant at soil level. The total mass of all wet plant
matter harvested from each group was measured with the digital scale.

Results:

Figure 1 Initial setup of ​Brassica rapa ​growing experiment

Table 1 Height (in cm) of each plants, one week after the start date
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Control Group A Group B Group C

 Figure 2 Growth of ​Brassica rapa​ after one week

In the week after the experiment setup, it was found that the felt wick mat was not pulling up
enough water from the plastic container to the end furthest from the water which surrounded
Group C (the high concentration of coffee grounds-77%). None of the seeds had sprouted yet
(Figure 2).

Table 2 Height (in cm) of each plants, two weeks after the start date
0 1.3 2.0 2.1 1.2 1.8 1.1 0

0 0 0 2.1 0 0 0 2.2

1.0 2.0 0 2.0 1.8 0 0 1.4

0 1.5 2.2 1.5 1.9 1.3 1.5 1.5

Control Group A Group B Group C

 Figure 3 Growth of ​Brassica rapa​ after two weeks

Roughly 63% of the seeds sprouted (four from the control, six from group A, five from group
B, five from group C) by the second week of the experiment. All of the sprouted plants were
green (Figure 3).

Table 3 Height (in cm) of each plants, three weeks after the start date
0 4.0 2.7 3.2 0.5 1.4 1.5 0

0 0 0 2.1 0 0 0 1.2

4.8 6.1 0 3.7 1.5 0 0 1.9

0 1.3 2.4 2.2 2.4 0.5 1.6 1.5

Control Group A Group B Group C

Figure 4 Growth of ​Brassica rapa​ after three weeks

The majority of the plants eventually took on reddish-purple hues. Some plants quickly shriveled
up and died by week three (Figure 4).
Table 4 Height (in cm) of each plants, four weeks after the start date
0 8.0 2.8 3.5 0.8 1.6 1.5 0

0 0 0 2.2 0 0 0 1.4

0 6.5 0 4.5 1.5 0 0 2.5

0 1.9 1.8 2.3 2.2 0.5 2.2 1.2

Control Group A Group B Group C

Figure 5 Growth of ​Brassica rapa​ after four weeks

By week four, some of the plants that were shorter than the control group’s flowering plants
already had some flowers blooming. The color of all of the flowers seemed to be the same
yellow shade, no matter the reddish-purple or green color of the rest of the plant (Figure 5).

Table 5 Height (in cm) of each plants, five weeks after the start date
0 8.2 2.8 2.6 0.8 1.2 1.5 0

0 0 0 1.7 0 0 1.5 1.4

0 6.8 0 4.0 0.5 0 0 2.2

 0 2.0 1.8 2.7 2.3 0.5 2.4 1.3

Control Group A Group B Group C

Figure 6 Growth of ​Brassica rapa​ after five weeks

Most of the plants were withering by the fifth week. However, there was one newly sprouted
plant in group C which sprouted green. The leaves of the reddish-purple plant in the back of
group C were pinched and it was observed that they were well hydrated (Figure 6).

Table 6 Average height (in cm) of each group every week

Week Control Group Group A Group B Group C

1 0 0 0 0

2 0.7 1.5 1 1

3 2 2 0.8 1

4 2 2.1 0.8 1.1

5 2.1 2 0.7 1.3

Figure 7 Average height in ​Brassica rapa​ over the course of 5 weeks

Table 7 Measured final masses of each group (with bowl) after 5 weeks

Measurements

Object being measured Mass (g)

Mass of bowl used to weigh the SCG 4.698g

Mass of bowl + SCG of Control 4.788g

Mass of bowl + SCG of Group A 4.781g

Mass of bowl + SCG of Group B 4.733g

Mass of bowl + SCG of Group C 4.779g

Calculations:

T otal mass of each group = (mass of bowl + SCG of each group) − (mass of bowl)
Table 8 Calculated final masses of each plant

Group Total Mass of Each Group (g)

Control 0.090

Group A 0.083

Group B 0.035

Group C 0.081

Figure 8 Final mass comparison across all 4 groups

There were no consistent growth patterns detected, except that the control group yielded slightly
more growth than groups A, B, and C. The control group achieved the greatest heights by far
with its 8.2mm and 6.8mm tall plants (Table 5). Group B (33% coffee grounds) yielded a total
mass roughly 40% less than the other groups (Table 8). Roughly 38% of the plants did not sprout
at all during the course of the experiment (Figure 5).
Discussion:

The results of the experiment showed that there was no consistent growth over time.
Plant growth was spontaneous. During some weeks, the plants showed a lot of growth whereas
others showed little to none. The data shows that there was slightly more growth in the control
group than any of the other three groups. In particular, Group B showed the least growth. It
yielded a total mass that was roughly 40% lower than the other groups. On average, the mass of
the control group, group A and group C were within 0.008g of each other. The outlier, group C,
had an average mass difference of 0.050g when compared to the other three groups. The results
found by Chilosi and others (2020) coincide with these uneven results since they found that even
though SCG contribute necessary nutrients and are not phytotoxic at low levels, adding SCG can
still cause decreased plant growth. Another study that our results aligned with was the study
conducted by Turek and others (2019). Our results agreed with their conclusion that at high
enough levels, there would be a noticeable decrease in plant growth, as shown in our experiment
by the height. After five weeks, in all three groups with the coffee grounds, the average height of
those plants were less than the average height of the control group plants.
Initially, some seeds sprouted quickly. When the plants first sprouted, they were all
green. Over time, some of the leaves turned reddish-purple, and some plants quickly dried up and
died. Some of the plants grew slowly throughout the entire experiment or never sprouted at all.
There are a number of variables that could have contributed to these results, such as bad seeds,
variations in soil density and volume, and an ineffective watering system. The felt wicking mat
did not draw enough water toward the end furthest from the water which could have resulted in
the diamond wicks bringing scarce amounts of water to the soil. Thus, setting back the growth of
that group. Also, the warped and uneven plastic lid may have prevented the diamond wicks from
making sufficient contact with the felt mat. Additionally, the soil was not pressed into the
compartments, so the light airy nature of the soil may have prohibited sufficient contact with the
diamond wicks. The watering system should be tested first to confirm that it is functional if this
experiment were to be repeated. Large particles of wood or other debris should be filtered from
the soil if small compartments are used. The soil should be lightly pressed into place to ensure
soil contact with diamond wicks and seed. The process of recording the total mass of each group
of plants was a way to track the development and growth of ​Brassica rapa. T ​ he results of this
experiment show that adding coffee grounds does have an effect on regular soil. Another way to
further research this topic may be to try adding coffee grounds to polluted soil to see if the results
would differ.​ ​Overall, for the majority of the experiment, plant growth was erratic. The plant
heights of groups A, B, and C were similar to each other. The results of the experiment were
highly irregular and inconclusive.
Conclusion:

This experiment describes that different concentrations of SCG cannot be the deciding
factor of plant growth. Other properties of coffee such as density and the nutrients it provides
and absorbs also play a role in the growth of plants. Plants require an adequate amount of space
to grow and water uptake relies on that space. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint whether it is the
effect of SCG or the space within the styrofoam compartments that caused the inconclusive
results. This is a prime example of why repetition is a vital aspect of the scientific method.
Before going forward with the idea to replace traditional fertilizer with SCG, more tests and
studies need to be done that produce more consistent and replicable results.
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