Certificate

This is to certify that Miss Deepika Merawat of class XII C

has completed her biology project entitled “Effects of
different fertilizers on the rate of germination, elongation
of hypocotyl and length of the root of wheat crop.’’

I appreciate her efforts and wish her for the bright future.

Mrs. Vidhya Pathak Principal

Sr. Biology Teacher St. Paul’s Sen. Sec.
School
Banswara- (Raj.)

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 Acknowledgement

I sincerely extend my deepest gratitude to our Principal,

Father William for provided us with all the facilities and
kind moral support for carrying out this project work.

I take this opportunity to give my special thanks to our

esteemed biology teacher Mrs. Vidhya Pathak for her
inevitable help. It is much because of her guidance that
endeavours to accomplish this project materialized.

I am also thankful to our Biology Lab. Astt. Ullas Bai for her
constant help during this project work.

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 Contents

1. AIM

2. REASON FOR ITS SELECTION

3. APPLICATION AND SIGNIFICANCE

4. INTRODUCTION

5. THEORY

6. MATERIALS

7. PROCEDURE

8. OBSERVATIONS

9. RESULT

10. CONCLUSION

11. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 Aim
To study the“Effecst of different fertilizers on the rate of
germination, elongation of hypocotyl and length of the root
of wheat crop.’’

Reason for its selection

In the northern part of our country mainly in Rajasthan
wheat, maize, jawar etc. are staple crops.
There is great need to increase the production under
limited resources such as irrigation. One way is by using
different fertilizers. So I decided to study the effect of
different fertilizers on wheat crop.

Application and Significance

Our country has gained successful achievements in crop
productions, this is mainly because of increased use of
fertilizers consumption which is 46 Kg. per hectare in our
country, and it is still increasing day by day.
Fertilizers being nutrient specific and being water soluble
have replaced large use of manures and prove to us more
advantageous and cheap. Due to its easy storage and
application nit has gained a great significance. It has
directly influenced the economy of our country. “But its
judicious use is necessary otherwise it may lead to great
dangers.’’

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 Introduction
The crop Plant need a number of mineral elements for
their proper growth and functioning which they get from the
soil through their roots, these are called nutrients.
Plants need at least 16 elements or nutrients for their
growth. They are as follows.
1. Macro-Nutrients – Required by plants in larger
quantity.
a. Carbon b. hydrogen c. Oxygen
d. Nitrogen e. Phosphorus f. Potassium
g. Calcium h. Magnesium i. Sulphur
Carbon, Hydrogen and oxygen are taken from air and
water where as rest are taken from soil. The most important
elements or nutrients required by the plants are Nitrogen,
Phophprus and Potassium. These are called primary
Elements or Primary Nutrients.
2. Macro - Nutrients – Required by Plants in very small
quantity.
j. Iron k. Manganese l. Copper
m. Zinc n. Boron o. Molybdenum
p. Chlorine
The deficiency of any of these 16 nutrients leads to the
malnutrition of plants and thus reduces the plant yield.
The growing of crop in the same soil for many years
makes it deficient in some of the important elements. This
deficiency of elements especially of NPK (Nitrogen,
Phosphorus, Potassium) and manures.
Manure – It is a natural substance obtained by the
decomposition of animal wastes like cow- dung, human
wastes and plant residues, which supplies essential elements
and humus to the soil and makes it more fertile.

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 Fertilizer – A Chemical fertilizer is a salt or an organic
compound containing the necessary plant nutrients like
nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium to make the soil more
fertile.
Now, we know that PLANT IS THE FUTURE OF SEED.
It is the seed only which takes nourishment from the soil and
develops into a plant. The plant body consists of a main axis
which may or may not be branched, bearing lateral
appendages. This axis is generally divided in to underground
part (root) and an aerial part (shoot).

Theory

Fertilizer
Definition – fertilizer is a salt or an organic compound
containing the necessary plant nutrients like nitrogen,
Phosphorus & potassium to make the soil more fertile.
Fertilizers can be inorganic or organic depending upon
the fact of carbon contained is there or not. E.g
Ammonium sulphate [ (NH4)2SO4 ] is an example of
inorganic fertilizer.
Urea is an example of organic fertilizer.
Fertilizers can be granular or agranular i.e. water
soluble depending upon the particles of fertilizer.
Fertilizers of phosphorus and potassium are granular
and added to soil before sowing. Whereas urea and
nitrogenous fertilizers are water soluble and can be added
after sowing. Being soluble they are easily absorbed by
plants.

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 According to particular plant food elements which form
their principle constituent they may be grouped into three
types:
1.Nitrogenous 2. Phosphatic 3. Potassic

Nitrogenous Fertilizers
(Ammonium Sulphate) (NH4SO4)
It is the most widely used fertilizers in the country. It is a
white crystalline salt containing 20 to 21% ammonical
nitrogen. It is a very suitable for wetland eg. Paddy & jute. It
has been also found useful on wheat, cotton sugarcane,
potato & many other crops grown on wide variety of soils. It
has however, an acidic effect on soil. It’s long continued use
increase soil acidity & lowers the yield. It is advisable to use
these fertilizers in conjugation with weekly organic manures
to safeguard against the ill effects of continued application
of ammonium sulphate to field & horticulture crops.
Ammonium sulphate can be applied before sowing or at the
time of sowing. More e.g. of nitrogenous fertilizers are
1. Ammonium nitrate
2. Sodium nitrate
3. Urea

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 Phosphate Fertilizers
(Super Phosphate) (Ca(H2PO4)2)
It is also most widely used phosphoric fertilizers in India.
It is most commonly prepared by treating bones with
sulphuric acid & also by treating ground phosphate rock
with almost an equal quantity by weight of sulphuric acid.
The phosphoric acid in super phosphate is complete
water soluble but when applied to soil, it is immediately
converted into insoluble phosphate owing to precipitation as
calcium ion accordingly as the soil is alkaline or acidic.
Thus the fertilizer is not leached, but it slowly get dissolved
in the soil solution. The fertilizer is suitable for all types of
crops & can be applied to all soil. In acidic soils, it should
be used in addition with organic manures. It should be used
before or at sowing or transplantation.
Other phosphatic fertilizers commonly used are
1. Ammonium Phosphate
2. Ammonium Hydrogen Phosphate or Ammophos

Potassic Fertilizer
Potassium Sulphate (K2SO4)
It is made by treating potassium chloride with magnesium
sulphate & is therefore most costly. It contains 48 to 52% of
K2O. It is dissolved readily in water & becomes available to
crop immediately. Most of the Indian soil contain a sufficient
amount of potash. Potassic fertilizer should therefore be
applied only to such soil that are definitely known to be
deficient in potash or to those which respond to their
application, such as sandy soil. They can also be applied to

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certain crops such as tobacco, potato, tomato & fruit trees to
improve the quantity & appearance of their products.
Few more eg. of potassic fertilizer are
1. Potassium chloride (KCl)
2. Potassium Nitrate (KNO3)

Mixed Fertilizers
These are the fertilizer which contains nitrogen, potash &
phosphate in equal proportion. Mixtures containing all the
three principle nutrients (N, P & K) are termed as complete
fertilizers. Mixtures usually meet nutrient deficiencies in a
more balanced manner & require less labour to apply them
straight rather then applying separately.

Application of Fertilizers
1. These can be applied before sowing, during irrigation
or sprayed crop.
2. Granular fertilizers are added before sowing &
agranular after sowing.

Disadvantage of using fertilizer

1. The continued use of chemical fertilizer can drastically
alter the nature of soil, making it either too alkaline or too
acidic.
This selection of fertilizers depends on chemistry of soil.
2. The excessive use of chemical fertilizer causes water
pollution.

Bio fertilizers

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 Manures
It is a natural substance obtained by the decomposition of
animal wastes like cow dung, human wastes and plant
residues which supplies essential elements and humus to the
soil and makes it more fertile.
These are “Nutrient specific” and not very rich in NPK
but rich in organic chemical nutrient like humus. It restores
soil texture for better retention and aeration. Humus
provided by manure improves the physical and chemical
property of soil.
Manures are prepared from animal wastes, plant waste
and human wastes by action of micro organisms.
Since they are not “Nutrient Specific” hence are to be
supplemented by fertilizers.
Example.
UREA : It is a nitrogenous fertilizerand its chemical
composition is Co(NH2)2. It is an organic fertilizer since it
contains carbon.

Materials Required
Three type of fertilizer, pots, wheat grain and long scale.

Procedure

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 1. Prepare three pots each containing equal amounts of
calcium phosphate (phosphatic fertilizer), ammonium
sulphate (Nitrogen Fertilizer), and potassium sulphate
(Potash fertilizer. The soil taken as input should be fine
black soil.
2. Prepare three more pots in which two types of
fertilizers are mixed together i.e. phosphate and nitrogen in
one pot, phosphate and potash in second pot and nitrogen
and potash in third pot.
3. One more pot should be prepared in which all three
types of fertilizers are mixed (NPK fertilizer).
4. In each pot put counted number of wheat grain for
germination. Note the number of seed germinated.
5. After 5 and 10 days, measure the length of radicle and
plumule of germinated seeds and record the average in
observation table.

Observation Table

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 Table 1: The length of the radicle and plumule of
germinated wheat grain when single fertilizer was
used.

Name of the Length of Radicle (mm) Length of Plumule(mm)

Fertilizer After 5 days After 10 After 5 days After 10
days days
POTASH 4 mm 9 mm 5 mm 10 mm
NITROGEN 7 mm 15 mm 8 mm 16 mm
PHOSPHATE 3 mm 6 mm 8 mm 16 mm

Table 2 : The length of the radicle and plumule of

germinated wheat grain when kept in a double
fertilizer.

Name of the Fertilizer Length of Radicle (mm) Length of Plumule(mm)

After 5 After 10 After 5 days After10days
days days
N. P. FERTILIZERS 9 mm 16 mm 11 mm 19 mm
P .K. FERTILIZERS 7 mm 13 mm 8 mm 14 mm
N. K.FERTILIZERS 11 mm 19 mm 12 mm 23 mm

Table 3 : The length of the radicle and plumule of

germinated
wheat grain when kept in a triple fertilizer.

Name of the Length of Radicle (mm) Length of Plumule(mm)

Fertilizer After 5 days After 10 After 5 days After 10 days
days
N. P.K. 15 mm 21 mm 18 mm 36 mm
FERTILIZERS

Result

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1. When nitrogen, phosphate and potash are applied
individually, the plant in which nitrogen was used
showed maximum growth.
2. When two fertilizers are applied to one crop, the
crop to which N K fertilizer is applied showed
more growth.
3. When N. P. K. fertilizer is applied the crop
showed maximum growth.

Conclusion
The maximum growth of the crop plants can be
obtained under limited resources by using all the
three essential fertilizer (NPK) together.

Bibliography
Refresher course in Biology
Lakhmir Singh
Text Book of Biology for Class XII
N.C.E.R.T.
Handbook of Agriculture
P.L. Jaswal
Text Book of Biology for Class X
N.C.E.R.T.

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