Soaking Seeds

And its effects on the Growth and Germination Rates of

Seth Blue
Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
 Table of Contents
1…Title
2…Table of contents
3…Purpose
4-5…Introduction
6…Hypothesis
7…Procedure
8…Materials list
9-11…Graphs
12…Results
13…Conclusion
14…Further Research
15…Acknowledgements

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 Purpose
The purpose of this project is to find out whether or not
soaking seeds prior to planting has any noticeable effect on the
growth and germination rates of soybean seeds.

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 0 Introduction
Farming and agriculture is one of the most important
industries in the history of mankind. It has been around since the
times of the ancient Sumerians. Since that time people have been
trying to improve this industry using various techniques,
practices, machines and many other things. One of these
processes is soaking seeds prior to planting.
Before soaking your seeds one must know whether or not
their seeds would benefit from soaking. Small wet seeds tend to
stick together on your fingers and don’t benefit much from the
soaking process. Large seeds such as corn, beans, and peas will
benefit from soaking though. Seeds can soak anywhere from
twenty minutes to forty-eight hours but the norm is eight to
twelve hours. Once one has a containment vessel they fill it with
three to five parts water to one part seed. One can’t have too
much water because once the seeds have soaked their fill they
will not soak anymore but there is such a thing as too little water.
The process basically loosens the seed coat surrounding the
dormant embryo. This causes the embryo to require less energy
to break free and germinate. An example from one source stated
that the germination rate was improved from two weeks to
between three and four days.
Another similar process called vernalization can also be used
to increase crop yields. Vernalization by definition is the
acquisition of the competence to flower in the spring by exposure
to the prolonged cold of winter. During the process seeds are
exposed to high humidity and low temperature climate. Many
temperate plants have a vernalization requirement and will not
grow without it. Fruit bearing trees need vernalization to break
the period of dormancy and will not germinate without it. The
typical temperature for vernalization is five to ten degrees Celsius
(forty to fifty degrees Fahrenheit).

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 A variation of vernalization known as Lysenkoism surfaced in
the nineteen thirties in the Soviet Union. A man named Trofim
Lysenko claimed that he created the process of vernalization and
that his alternate version would increase crop yields three to four-
hundred percent. In his process he claimed that the effects of
vernalization were hereditary. That once a seed was vernalized all
child seeds produced from that plant would also be vernalized. A
discovery like this would be incredible. It would change the
agriculture industry forever...if it were true. No, unfortunately
Lysenko’s claims were absurd and the only things backing it up
were questionnaires filled out by illiterate farmers. His claims and
processes caused famines in soviet Russia that killed millions.

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 Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that the water soaked seeds will have the highest growth
and germination rates of any of the substances. This is because water is the
standard substance for soaking seeds and most studies, in which seed soaking was
used, water was also used. Second, I believe will be the Hydrogen Peroxide
(H2O2), as it is slightly acidic and could loosen up the seed coat more than some
of the other contestants. Third, I believe will be sugar water because the sugar
could potentially provide nutrients to the growing embryo. Fourth, I believe will
be the control because salt water could potentially do more harm than help as salt
often kills crops. I think salt water will have the lowest growth and germination
rates for the reasons mentioned earlier.

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 Procedure
1. Acquire all materials listed previously.
2. Measure 1 cup of each substance into different cups.
3. Count out 50 seeds (10 per substance).
4. Cut 10 seeds into each cup and set aside 10 for control.
5. Allow seeds to soak for 8 hours.
6. While the seeds soak, pour 1 bag of potting soil into each planter.
7. Poke a 2cm deep hole every 4cm in each planter 15 times for the first
two and 10 for the second two.
8. After the seeds have soaked for 8 hours, remove them and place 1
seed in each hole and refill the holes.
9. Water each planter with 1 cup of water evenly spread throughout.
10.Measure the plants from base to top and record results.
11.Repeat Steps 9-10 every day for 20 days.
12.Publish results.

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 Materials list
13.Measuring tool (250 ml cup)
14.Water (H2O)
15.Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
16.50 soybean seeds
17.Salt water ( 35,000 ppm approximately)
18.Sugar water ( 35,000 ppm approximately)
19.Four bags of potting soil
20.Four 6”x6”x30” planters
21.Ruler
22.Notebook
23.Pen/pencil
24.Four cups (any size)
25.Camera

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 Results
The results of my experiment were astonishing. The data was almost
completely the opposite of what I predicted. By far, the control had the highest
growth and germination rates. The average time to germinate for control was 9.9
days with the quickest being 7 days and the slowest (excluding those seeds that did
not germinate at all) being 18 days. 9 of the 10 plants germinated over the 20 day
data gathering period. The overall average growth rate was 1.08cm per day. The
highest measured was between days 10 and 11, which was 8cm. The average that
day was 4.03cm.
Second place was water. The average time to germinate was 7 days, but
only 5 of the 10 plants germinated. The fastest time to germinate was 8 days and
the slowest was 11 days. The overall average daily growth rate has .56cm per day.
The highest growth rate was 7cm with the day’s average being .65cm.
Third place was sugar water, which just barely beat out hydrogen peroxide
in the last couple of days. The average time to germinate was 13.5 days. 4 of the
10 plants germinated with the first being on the 12th day and the last being on the
16th day. The overall average daily growth was .07cm per day. The highest
growth between two days was 1.5cm with the highest average being .23cm.
Fourth place was hydrogen peroxide with the average time to germinate
being 11 days, but only 1 of the 10 plants germinated. The hydrogen peroxide
might have possibly killed most of the seeds as several split in half during the soak
period. The overall average growth rate was .03cm per day. The highest daily
growth was 1.5cm and the average that day was .15cm.
Last was salt water, in which no plants grew. I am unsure of the
reasons behind this, but no data can be reported.

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 Conclusion
In conclusion, my hypothesis was almost completely disproven. Only two
of its five aspects were correct. Sugar water was third and salt water was last.
Most of my predictions were relatively close. Water was one spot off. Control and
hydrogen peroxide were both two spots off. The answer to the question stated at
the beginning of this experiment, is yes, soaking sees does have an effect on the
growth and germination rate of soy bean seeds. Unfortunately, the effect is
negative as any liquid the seeds are soaked in causes the growth and germination
rates to be lowered.
As to real world uses, I would highly recommend that farmers not allow
their seeds to be soaked by all means necessary. If a bad rainstorm hit and the
seeds somehow ended up soaked, crop yields could be decreased by nearly 50%.
As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This applies well to this
situation as no soak is by far the best way to go when planting soy bean seeds.

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 Further Research
Possible experiments I could perform in the future, in relation to this
experiment, are many. One could be that I change the soak time and re-do this
experiment. I could also test other substances, such as more or less acidic ones. If
I had more time, I would’ve liked to have taken more than twenty days of data to
have more pronounced results. I could also do this same experiment, but with a
different seed, such as corn, peas, and other large seeds.

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 Acknowledgements
Several individual’s hard work went into this project. First and foremost, I
would like to thank my Aunt Tracy. She helped me with the new, improved and
more confusing Windows Vista. Without her help, this project would not be
finished. Secondly, I would like to thank my grandmother for supplying cardstock,
matting and other materials needed to construct the board. I would also like to
thank my grandfather, father and mother for buying the board and materials
required for the experiment. Lastly, I would like to thank my brother, Connor, for
taking pictures.