Effects of Increasing Fertilizer Amount on Green Onion Stalk and Root Growth

Abstract

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, or the “Big 3” are the primary nutrients that play a fundamental role in plant growth and productivity. Growth is defined as a process that brings about a permanent and irreversible change in any plant or its parts in respect to its size, form, weight, length, and volume, and the growth analysis for this experiment was aimed to capture changes in terms of root and stalk length. The objective of this study was to test the effects of increasing concentration of fertilizer on the root and stalk growth of green onions in two weeks. Eighteen green onions were divided into six groups of three where different groups received different concentrations of fertilizer and the growth of these vegetables was closely monitored and recorded. We hypothesized that if fertilizers containing big 3 (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) enhance growth, then increasing fertilizer amount should lead to increased growth of root and stalk of green onions. To assess our hypothesis, we performed a separate one-way ANOVA analysis of our data collected on the root and stalk length. We concluded that an increase in fertilization addition led to increased root growth however the effects of fertilizer on the growth of the stalk system were insignificant.