1. Rose Brusaferro, Megan Levin,
Olivia Warner & Trina Seunarine
Stevenson University
BIO 114 – Dr. Kimber

2. •Question- Is pellet form the most effective method
of administering fertilizer to plants, with regard to
plant growth and nutrition?
•Hypothesis- Plants may benefit from fertilizer
being administered in powder or liquid form which
could be more readily absorbed by the plant roots.
•Anticipated Results- Plant growth will be greater
among plants fertilized with crushed or dissolved
fertilizer pellets.

3. MATERIALS METHODS
 4 quads and
necessary planting
materials
 48 RCBr seeds
 24 fertilizer pellets
 Mortar & pestle
 Graduated
cylinder
 Ruler
 Disposable pipette
 Reservoir and
water mat
 Stirring rod
 Brassica rapa seeds planted in…
 Quad A – with no fertilizer.
 Quad B – with fertilizer pellets.
 Quad C – with crushed fertilizer
pellets.
 Quad D – with crushed fertilizer
pellets dissolved in solution

4. The quad that contained
crushed fertilizer had
the highest growth rate
and the quad that had
the lowest growth rate
contained no fertilizer
(Figure 1). The quads
that contained fertilizer
pellets and the quads
that contained dissolved
fertilizer had average
growth rates that were
in between (Figure 1).
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
7 14 21 28
PlantHeight(mm)
Time (days)
No Fertilizer
Fertilizer Pellets
Crushed Fertilizer
Dissolved Fertilizer
Figure 1. Plant heights of B. rapa plants exposed
to varied fertilizer conditions over 3 weeks.

5.  Plants administered crushed fertilizer pellets
had the highest average growth rate followed
by dissolved fertilizer pellets, then fertilizer
pellets, and, lastly, no fertilizer.
 Possible sources of error: inconsistent
measuring and planting techniques, and
crushed pellets dissolved in liquid may have
washed out of the quad before being absorbed.
 Further experiments: Re-do experiment, but
apply dissolved fertilizer to dry soil to ensure
all of it is absorbed.

6. Plants grown with fertilizer grow better
than plants grown without fertilizer.
However, plants grown with crushed
fertilizer pellets had a higher growth rate
than the other two methods of
administering plant fertilizer, dissolved
fertilizer pellets and whole fertilizer
pellets.