Barley Botany

Conclusion

Assessment of Hypothesis

      The data does not support my hypothesis that the inverted barley would have a higher yield than plants in a normal position. The experiment yielded results that showed that while the inverted barley was able to grow to a similar height, 19.2 centimeters for the normal barley and 20.2 centimeters for the inverted barley, the inverted barley died at a faster rate than the normal barley. Due to the height of barley having a direct correlation with maturity, in the beginning of the experiment and throughout it, the inverted barley maintained the tallest living stalks. The death of the barley though is what resulted in the data not supporting the hypothesis. Despite being more mature the barley was not viable. This study would best be furthered in a better controlled environment, regarding light and water, as well as with several more plants per experiment. Also, the container size for each plant should be increased greatly to accommodate the roots of the plants. A real world application of this experiment is increasing productivity and efficiency in agriculture. Growing food takes very large tracts of land, if the efficiency of each individual plant could be increased and the way they are grown be made to reduce space required, it would have a great impact on the industry. Food would likely be cheaper and it would reduce human impact on the planet.

Error Analysis

      This experiment contained several errors of considerable magnitude that ultimately affected the outcome of the experiment.