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The Effects of Irrigating Tomato Seeds with Varying Levels of Aqueous Saline Solutions on Germination

Student(s):Sanan Khairabadi
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
Teacher:
Contributors:
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report
Protocols:Earth As a System
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Optional Badges:I am a Problem Solver, I am a Data Scientist, I make an Impact
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:01/01/2024
salinization in field
Wild tomatoes living in the Galápagos Islands have genetic adaptations helping them survive saline conditions, and domestic tomatoes are moderately sensitive to salt. This could indicate a tomato seed can germinate in saline conditions, and it’s origin could help seeds withstand salinization better than other crops. Tomato seeds take 5-10 days to germinate. This experimental study tested whether a tomato seed could tolerate irrigation with an aqueous solution with extreme salinity levels and germinate in the 10 day window. The formula for parts per notation was used to calculate the amount of salt needed to make the solution a different level on the salinity status scale, excluding marginal. The salinity status scale measured how saline the water was. There are three pots for each salinity status level. Five seeds planted in a pot were watered with a 30 ml solution once a day for ten days. A syringe was used to make measurements. The time it took for each seed to germinate, each pot’s germination rate, and how long it took for the first seed to germinate in each pot determined the success of a seed’s germination. Tomato seeds irrigated with freshwater germinated, and two of three pots watered with brackish water germinated. Fresh pots 1-3 and brackish pots 2 and 3 had germination rates of 100%. All other pots had germination rates of 0%, concluding tomato seeds could not withstand saline conditions.



Comments

Have you visited the Galapagos Islands? I thought it was very interesting that you begin by noting that there is a tomato growing there that has had genetic adaptations to survive brackish conditions. This was really very interesting research- and very well done!

No, I have not. It would be so much fun to do research there, though! Thank you for your feedback.