The Effect of Instant Coffee on the Germination of Phaseolus Vulgaris L.

Overview

Coffee contains many different components, each with their own effect on seed growth. Most research centers around the specific components rather than coffee as a whole. This project looks at the effect of instant coffee on the growth of Phaseolus Vulgaris seeds during germination. I hypothesized that the addition of coffee would increase the growth of the Phaseolus vulgaris L. seedlings during germination. To test the hypothesis, four groups of 25 seeds were soaked in 0%, 0.5%, 1%, and 3% solutions of instant coffee and distilled water. Each group of seeds was placed in controlled conditions. The total length (from the seed to the root tip) was measured every 12 hours over a period of 5 days. After collecting the data, t-tests (alpha-value: 0.05) were used to compare the experimental groups to the control group (0% coffee). The tests found that there was no statistically significant difference between any of the experimental groups and the control. This means that coffee had no measurable effect on the growth of Phaseolus vulgaris L. seedling and the hypothesis isn’t supported. The result could be caused by the interactions between acidity and antioxidants, with the acidity being canceled out by antioxidants. This study shows how stressors and antioxidants interact in germination which could be used by farmers to protect their crops from high acidity.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Plant Biology (Junior Division) · Entry J-18-05

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