The effect of two Aloe vera extracts against Chenopodium album with Triticum aestivum as a control plant
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Botany
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Weeds and insects are always a problem for crops. Chemical pesticides or herbicides are applied to the crops, but there can be detrimental side effects. Weeds can quickly evolve to become herbicide-resistant and there can be damage to the surrounding environment, such as ground-water contamination. The purpose of this experiment was to test Aloe vera as a possible bioherbicide. Bioherbicides have the potential to replace chemical herbicides, because they can reduce the growth of weeds naturally. It was hypothesized that if two extracts were made from Aloe vera, then the .5 g/mL concentration of A. vera would reduce plant growth of Chenopodium album more than the .25 g/mL concentration of A. vera. The method of conducting the experiment was to first grow both the weed and control plant, Chenopodium album and Triticum aestivum, for the same amount of time, or until the weed, C. album, was more than 10 cm in height and the control plant, T. aestivum, had three leaves or more. The extracts were then made by cutting up leaves and crushing them with a mortar and pestle, 240 g to 240 ml of distilled water for the 50% concentration and 120 g to 360 ml of distilled water for the 25% concentration. It was left to steep for a day, then was filtered with cheesecloth. Then 2 ml of the extracts were added to at least 30 or more of either plants with 2 ml of distilled water for the control. They were applied five times. Plant height was measured the next day after each application. One-way ANOVA’s were done to determine any difference of means between the final lengths of height of the three trials from both plants. The Scheffé test revealed that the 25% A. vera extract had a positive effect compared to the control and the 25% A. vera extract compared to the 50% A. vera extract. The 50% A. vera also increased growth compared to the control. Therefore, the study indicates that Aloe vera does have allelopathic potential as a plant growth enhancer and not as an plant growth inhibitor.
Recommended Citation
Kim, Seungmee, "The effect of two Aloe vera extracts against Chenopodium album with Triticum aestivum as a control plant" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 264.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/264
Start Date
4-11-2015 3:30 PM
End Date
4-11-2015 3:45 PM
The effect of two Aloe vera extracts against Chenopodium album with Triticum aestivum as a control plant
Weeds and insects are always a problem for crops. Chemical pesticides or herbicides are applied to the crops, but there can be detrimental side effects. Weeds can quickly evolve to become herbicide-resistant and there can be damage to the surrounding environment, such as ground-water contamination. The purpose of this experiment was to test Aloe vera as a possible bioherbicide. Bioherbicides have the potential to replace chemical herbicides, because they can reduce the growth of weeds naturally. It was hypothesized that if two extracts were made from Aloe vera, then the .5 g/mL concentration of A. vera would reduce plant growth of Chenopodium album more than the .25 g/mL concentration of A. vera. The method of conducting the experiment was to first grow both the weed and control plant, Chenopodium album and Triticum aestivum, for the same amount of time, or until the weed, C. album, was more than 10 cm in height and the control plant, T. aestivum, had three leaves or more. The extracts were then made by cutting up leaves and crushing them with a mortar and pestle, 240 g to 240 ml of distilled water for the 50% concentration and 120 g to 360 ml of distilled water for the 25% concentration. It was left to steep for a day, then was filtered with cheesecloth. Then 2 ml of the extracts were added to at least 30 or more of either plants with 2 ml of distilled water for the control. They were applied five times. Plant height was measured the next day after each application. One-way ANOVA’s were done to determine any difference of means between the final lengths of height of the three trials from both plants. The Scheffé test revealed that the 25% A. vera extract had a positive effect compared to the control and the 25% A. vera extract compared to the 50% A. vera extract. The 50% A. vera also increased growth compared to the control. Therefore, the study indicates that Aloe vera does have allelopathic potential as a plant growth enhancer and not as an plant growth inhibitor.
