The Effect of Bacillus Cereus versus Biochar In the Ability to Decrease Chlorothalonil and Increase Rhizobium Bacteria In Soils

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

10th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Chlorothalonil is the world’s second most used fungicide, but it is associated with numerous environmental hazards, including the inhibition of beneficial soil microbes, such as Rhizobium, and it can cause various health risks. This research was aimed to determine which biodegradation treatment, biochar or Bacillus cereus, would be capable of degrading chlorothalonil and result in the increase of Rhizobia, which assists in plant growth and soil condition. It was hypothesized that the plants treated with biochar would show more root nodules compared to the plants treated with Bacillus cereus. Pea plant seeds were divided into three groups of 20, which were then assigned to different treatment groups, which would then be contaminated with 0.35 ml of Daconil, a popular fungicide that uses chlorothalonil as its main ingredient. The absence of root nodules after experimentation lead to the collection of the root mass and the number of leaves. Both variables were statistically analyzed with a one way ANOVA at the alpha=0.05 level. There was no statistical significance between the root masses, but there was with the number of leaves; (F(2,57)= 5.56, p=0.006). A Tukey test determined that significant differences were between the control versus the Bacillus cereus treatment and in the Bacillus cereus treatment versus the biochar treatment. It was concluded that neither treatment was able to successfully increase the amount of Rhizobium, but when comparing the dependent variables, it was assumed that biochar had the most effect on soil health.

Location

Founders Hall 213 A

Start Date

3-30-2019 9:30 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 30th, 9:30 AM

The Effect of Bacillus Cereus versus Biochar In the Ability to Decrease Chlorothalonil and Increase Rhizobium Bacteria In Soils

Founders Hall 213 A

Chlorothalonil is the world’s second most used fungicide, but it is associated with numerous environmental hazards, including the inhibition of beneficial soil microbes, such as Rhizobium, and it can cause various health risks. This research was aimed to determine which biodegradation treatment, biochar or Bacillus cereus, would be capable of degrading chlorothalonil and result in the increase of Rhizobia, which assists in plant growth and soil condition. It was hypothesized that the plants treated with biochar would show more root nodules compared to the plants treated with Bacillus cereus. Pea plant seeds were divided into three groups of 20, which were then assigned to different treatment groups, which would then be contaminated with 0.35 ml of Daconil, a popular fungicide that uses chlorothalonil as its main ingredient. The absence of root nodules after experimentation lead to the collection of the root mass and the number of leaves. Both variables were statistically analyzed with a one way ANOVA at the alpha=0.05 level. There was no statistical significance between the root masses, but there was with the number of leaves; (F(2,57)= 5.56, p=0.006). A Tukey test determined that significant differences were between the control versus the Bacillus cereus treatment and in the Bacillus cereus treatment versus the biochar treatment. It was concluded that neither treatment was able to successfully increase the amount of Rhizobium, but when comparing the dependent variables, it was assumed that biochar had the most effect on soil health.