CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 RESULTS

4.1.1 Observation on growth of plant with different treatment for week 1

Growth

Sample Treatment Number of Length of Length of Condition

leaves stem (cm) plant (cm)

Plant Tap water 3 0.3 8.2 Healthy looking

A1 (negative control) and green

Plant NPK fertilizer 3 0.2 7.0 Healthy looking

B1 (positive control) and green

Plant White rice 2 0.2 7.5 Healthy looking

C1 and green

Plant Brown rice 2 0.3 8.1 Healthy looking

D1 and green

Plant Glutinous 2 0.3 7.3 Healthy looking

E1 and green

For the first week, the length of stem for plant B1 and C1 is 0.2 cm, while the rest is 0.3

cm. The length of the plant A1 is 8.2 cm, plant B1 is 7.0 cm, plant C1 is 7.5 cm, plant D1 is 8.1
cm and plant E1 is 7.3 cm. The amount of leaves for plant A1 and B1 are 3, and C1, D1 and E1

is 2. For observation, all the plant has healthy looking and green in color. This is because the

plant is still small and fresh.

4.1.2 Observation on growth of plant with different treatment for week 2

Growth

Sample Treatment Number of Length of Length of Condition

leaves stem (cm) plant (cm)

 Plant Tap water 4 0.3 10.3 Healthy but the

A1 (negative control) stems are quite soft

Plant NPK fertilizer 4 0.4 11.0 Healthy and firm

B1 (positive control)

Plant White rice 4 0.4 10.9 Healthy and firm

C1

Plant Brown rice 3 0.4 9.5 Healthy and firm

D1

Plant Glutinous 3 0.3 10.8 Healthy and firm

E1

The second week, the length of stem for plant B1, C1 and D1 is 0.4 cm, 0.3 for plant A1

and E1. The length of the plant A1 is 10.3 cm, plant B1 is 11.0 cm, plant C1 is 10.9 cm, plant D1

is 9.5 cm and plant E1 is 10.8 cm. The amount of leaves for plant A1, B1 and C1 are 4, and D1

and E1 is 3. We can notice the changes of colour for the leaves. The plant A has some yellow

spots and the colour is not as green as the rest. For observation, all B1, C1, D1, and E1 plant has

healthy looking and firm. Plant A1 looks healthy but the stems are quite soft.
 4.1.3 Observation on growth of plant with different treatment for week 3

Growth

Sample Treatment Number of Length of Length of Condition

leaves stem (cm) plant (cm)

Plant Tap water 8 0.5 24.5 Stem really soft,

A1 (negative control) looks unhealthy

Plant NPK fertilizer 9 0.5 38.0 Stiffest stem,

B1 (positive control) healthy looking

Plant White rice 6 0.4 33.0 Have 3 small stems

C1 with lot of leaves

Plant Brown rice 7 0.4 28.4 Most leaves are

D1 dark green

Plant Glutinous 8 0.5 38.6 Soft stem

E1

The third week, the length of stem for plant A1, B1 and E1 is 0.5 cm, 0.4 for plant C1

and D1. The length of the plant A1 is 24.5 cm, plant B1 is 38.0 cm, plant C1 is 33.0 cm, plant D1

is 28.4 cm and plant E1 is 38.6 cm. The amount of leaves for plant A1 and E1 is 8, B1 is 9, C1 is

6 and D1 is 7. We can notice the changes of colour for the leaves. The plant A has some yellow
spots and the colour is not as green as the rest. For observation, plan A1 has stem that really soft,

and looks unhealthy. For plant B1, it has the stiffest stem and healthy looking. For plant C1, it

has 3 small stems with lot of leaves. For plant D1, most of the leaves are dark green. Lastly, for

plant E1, it has soft stem.

4.1.4 Observation on growth of plant with different treatment for week 4

Growth

Sample Treatment Number of Length of Length of Condition

leaves stem (cm) plant (cm)

Plant Tap water 10 0.5 28.4 Stem really soft,

A1 (negative control) pale green

Plant NPK fertilizer 12 0.5 49.5 Stiffest stem,

B1 (positive control) healthy looking

Plant White rice 9 0.5 35.5 Healthy looking,

C1 dark green leaves

 Plant Brown rice 11 0.4 34.5 The plants divides

D1 into two new plants

Plant Glutinous 11 0.5 43.2 Quite soft stem, not

E1 healthy looking

For week 4, the length of stem for plant A1, B1, C1, and E1 is 0.5 cm, and for plant D1 is 0.4

cm. The length of plant for plant A1 is 28.4 cm, plant B1 is 49.5 cm, plant C1 is 35.5 cm, plant D1

is 4.5 cm and plant E1 is 43.2 cm. The amount of leaves for plant A1 is 10, B1 is 12, C1 is 9 and

both of D1 and E1 is 11. Another observation of the plants, for plant A1, the stem is really soft and

pale green in color. For plant B1, it has the stiffest stem and has healthy looking. For plant C1, it

has healthy looking with dark green leaves. Plant D1 divides into two new plants and lastly for

plant E1, it has quite soft stem, and not healthy looking.
 Number of leaves vs. week
14

12

Number of leaves 10

0
Plant A1 Plant B1 Plant C1 Plant D1 Plant E1

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Length of stem vs. week

0.6

0.5
Length of stem

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
Plant A1 Plant B1 Plant C1 Plant D1 Plant E1

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

 Length of plant vs. week
60

50
Length of plant
40

30

20

10

0
Plant A1 Plant B1 Plant C1 Plant D1 Plant E1

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

4.2 Observation on the pH of the soil based on different treatment.

Samples Before After

Plant A1

Plant B1

Plant C1

Plant D1

Plant E1
Distilled water treatment soil pH

NPK fertilizer treatment soil pH

 White rice treatment soil pH

Brown rice treatment soil pH

Glutinous rice treatment soil pH

 4.3 Observation on the length of root.

Samples Length (cm)

Plant A1

Plant B1

Plant C1

Plant D1

Plant E1

4.4 DISCUSSION

4.4.1 Growth of Ipomoea aquatica

After the rice is washed, it will put out nutrients from the rice such as nitrogen (N),

phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). These are the nutrients that needed for a plant to grow. Different

type of rice will have different amount of nutrients in it. In our experiment, we used three type of rice

which are white rice, brown rice and glutinous rice.

For the results, we investigate it from 4 aspects. First aspect is from the number of leaves. The

number of leaves for brown rice and glutinous rice is same which is 11. This is the highest result

among rice treatment. For the number of leaves, there is a factor that affect the leaves development

which is the amount of nutrient in the soils. Higher nutrient in soil will lead to higher leaves

development and increase the number of leaves. This is proved that brown rice and glutinous rice are

rich in nutrient hence the plant has high number of leaves.

 For second aspect which is the length of stem, white rice treatment and glutinous rice

treatment has same result with NPK fertilizer treatment and tap water treatment which is 0.5 cm. For

brown rice treatment, the length of stem is 0.4 cm. For the result in this aspect, brown rice treatment

has the lowest result. There is factor that can affect the length of stem which is the amount of sunlight

exposed to the plant. This situation shows that plant from brown rice treatment did not get enough

sunlight exposure.

The third aspect is the length of the plant. From this aspect, the highest result among the rice

treatment is glutinous rice and brown rice is the lowest. The factor that can affect this aspect is also

the amount of sunlight exposed to the plant. This will support that plant from the brown rice treatment

did not get optimum sunlight exposure during growth process.

The last aspect that we investigate is the condition of the plant. The best result for this aspect

among rice treatment is brown rice. The plants divide into two new plants as a sign that the plant is

healthy and developing. Not like the plant from another rice treatment, the condition is not healthy

looking and dark in green color. This results proved that brown rice water treatment is the best as it

produces the most healthy plant among another rice treatment and the result is almost likely NPK

fertilizer.

From all of the aspects and situation, it is proved that brown rice treatment is better than

negative control which is tap water treatment, but lower than positive control which is NPK fertilizer.
4.4.2 pH of soil

Soil pH is a measure of hydrogen ions (H+) in the soil. In other words, a soil pH value is a

measurement of the concentration of ions held to soil particles and organic matter. Different type

of plants needs different value of soil pH for optimum growth rate. Ipomoea aquatica is adapted to

a wide range of soil conditions and has a relatively high soil moisture requirement and

clay soils are generally suitable. Soils with a high level of organic material are preferable. Soil pH

is important because it influences several soil factors affecting plant growth, such as soil bacteria,

nutrient leaching, nutrient availability, toxic elements, and soil structure. Bacterial activity that

releases nitrogen from organic matter and certain fertilizers is particularly affected by soil pH. The

pH is not an indication of fertility, but it does affect the availability of fertilizer nutrients. A soil

may contain adequate nutrients yet growth may be limited by a very unfavorable pH.

The optimum pH soil for Ipomoea aquatic is between 5.3-6.0. NPK fertilizer treatment is

the most optimum for soil pH of Ipomoea aquatica as it states the best result for Ipomoea aquatica

growth in all of the aspects and the pH soil of NPK fertilizer treatment is 5.51. The value of soil

pH in tap water treatment is between 6.15–8.5. This value is not really suitable for Ipomoea

aquatica as it can be too basic. The value of soil pH in brown rice treatment is 5.9. Brown rice

treatment soil pH is the best among another rice treatment. It almost achieved the optimum rate of

soil pH for Ipomoea Aquatica to has highest rate of growth development. This situation proved

that brown rice is better than the negative control which is tap water treatment and lower than

positive control which is NPK fertilizer.

4.4.3 Length of roots

For plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil.

Roots can also be aerial or aerating, that is, growing up above the ground or especially

above water. A few roles of roots are for anchoring of the plant to the soil, absorption of

water and nutrients from the soil and conduction of absorbed water and nutrients to stem.

4.4.4 Comparison with other studies