Observation
of the Typical Downward Growth of a Maize Root
It is of utmost importance to be familiar with the normal growth patterns of the organism that you are studying in order to have a valid control to compare the experimental variables with. This experiment is conducted to observe and analyze the natural downward growth of maize seeds so the data can be used to better evaluate the effects of the variables used in other experiments.
Experimental Design of What was Done in the Lab:
(Click Here for Step by Step Photos)
o Imbibe maize seeds for 24 hours.
o Plant seeds between 2 plates of glass and wet paper towels, cover with plastic wrap to hold together and retain moisture.
o Place in trough of water and let germinate for about 2 days, being sure to rewet the top of the paper towels in the glass so the plants do not dry out.
o Look at seedlings, pick out plants with a good root length
o Mount seedling on plate, either with a nutrient gel or damp filter paper to maintain moisture, and seal with parafilm.
o Set up camera, Put plants in place, and Capture the movie!
o Analyze growth patterns using NIH Image
See for yourself what happened!
About 5 hours of root growth is shown here in 15 seconds, so growth in real time is over 1000 time slower.