How Much is Too Much? The Effects of Water Hardness on Green Onion Plant Growth

Abstract

Similar to how people require minerals in order to maintain bone density and health, plants require minerals so that they can build sturdy cell walls and develop healthy root systems. Water hardness is understood to be a measurement of the concentration of minerals dissolved in any volume of water. This study was conducted to test the effect of water hardness on plant growth. Epsom salts were used to test how much Allium fistulosum (green onions) grew over eight days at different levels of water hardness. We hypothesized that the addition of salts would positively impact root growth and predicted that the onion placed in the highest salt concentration would have the highest growth. Results were compared between the controls, which were jars with green onions in soft tap water and other treatments at varying degrees of water hardness. Results indicated that the onions that were placed in soft water without additional Espom salts showed the most growth. The control had the highest mean growth of roots at 1.35 cm. A possible rationale for this outcome was that the excess minerals used had a negative effect by hindering root growth. One implication that the study has is that it can help in future similar studies that examine green onions or other plants’ growth at different levels of water hardness.