Studying the Impact of Microplastics on Quinoa Growth

Overview

This experiment’s purpose was to determine if the presence of common microplastics (polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), and polyethersulfone (PES)) would impact the growth of Chenopodium quinoa plants. The experiment had one control group with no microplastics and three experimental groups, one for each plastic, and 10 replicates in each group. The specimens were grown in a Conviron A1000 chamber for 15 days. Microplastics were polluted at 1% volume density. The growth of the plants was measured using final growth height and biomass at the experiment’s end. The C. quinoa specimens in the control, PA, and PES groups fared about the same in terms of final growth height (p < 0.05) while the PE group lagged behind. The biomass data was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), as all groups experienced high biomass variability and no major differences were witnessed between them. The lower growth among PE specimens was possibly caused by oxidative stress instigated by the plastic or the PE particles’ high relative surface area leading to the rapid release of chemical additives. The hypothesis, which predicted hindered growth among polluted groups, was partially supported by the PE group’s limited growth, but insignificant biomass data suggested more experimentation was necessary.

Competition history

• JSHS 2023 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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