CHAPTER IIIMETHODOLOGY

KINDS OF RESEARCH

Our research will be a data analysis because classes of data are collected and studies conducted to discern patterns and formulate principles that might guide future actions. It is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modelingdatawith the goal of highlighting usefulinformation, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, in different business, science, and social science domains. (Aidenyeh, 2006)

The researchers chose this kind of research to collect informative ideas and investigate to show how a development or a situation works from the ongoing research. The study will mainly tackle about the soils NPK, pH levels of soil and wheatgrass nutrients. The data that will be collected from the main ingredient of the research will prove on how a wheatgrass grow by the provision of soil.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research will be a perfect block design. Organization of the soils and its trials will make the research more understandable. Each trial will be separated in columns and each kind of soil will be separated in rows, with only one plant, the wheatgrass.

Trial 1Clay SoilWheatgrassTrial 2Clay SoilWheatgrassTrial 3Clay SoilWheatgrass

Trial 1Loam SoilWheatgrassTrial 2Loam SoilWheatgrassTrial 3Loam SoilWheatgrass

Trial 1Sand SoilWheatgrassTrial 2Sand SoilWheatgrassTrial 3Sand SoilWheatgrass

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

SoilClayLoamSand

PlantWheatgrass

Total number of Replicate = 3 x 1 x 3 = 9 Replicates

DEPENDENT VARIABLESCONSTANT VARIABLES

Dry WeightTemperature

Wet WeightSunlight

Plant WeightSize of Cup

pH Level of soil

NPK Analysis

Plant Height

Box 1. Variables of the study

The research will have 9 replicates, consisting of 3 kinds of soil, 1 kind of plant and 3 trials. The dependent variables of the study will be the data that will be looking for in soils. To find its value, usage of some significant procedures can get its consistent data. The constant variables will be useful to find what will be the value of the dependent variable of the research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS OF THE STUDY

1. Collection of Materials

Gather wheat seeds, 1kg of clay soil, 1kg of sand soil and 1kg of loam soil, and 9 10 cm diameter cup.

2. Soil Inoculation

This method is useful for inoculating moist soil. Place 1 kg of dry sand or fine dry soil into a bucket. Add 10 g inoculant. Close the lid tightly and shake the bucket by hand or roll it on the ground until inoculant and sand are thoroughly mixed. Open the bucket and inspect the mixture for uniformity. Continue mixing if required. Distribute the diluted inoculant in a band over 100 m of furrow. Plant the seeds immediately after inoculation. Close the furrow shortly after sowing to protect the inoculant from sun and heat. Irrigate after planting if possible.

3. Seed Germination

Get a cup full of water and put all of the seeds in the cup. Examine the seeds inside. When the seed float, it means, the seed is not capable in growth, but when the seed is in the bottom of the cup, then, it is capable in plant growth.

4. Planting the wheatgrass and Collecting significant ideas.

Plant 3 seeds of wheatgrass in clay soil, loam soil, and sand soil, in a 10cm diameter cup. Put the cup where sunlight can be available everyday without the interruption of other plants or walls. Irrigate the plants every day.

5. Analyses of Data

First, get the Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium content of soil. In getting the nitrogen content of soil, first, measure 20 grams of soil into a 100 milliliter cylindrical container. Second, Add 50 milliliter extracting solution. Then, Shake for 5 minutes on a reciprocal shaker. Next, Read the potential while suspension is being stirred with magnetic stirrer. Lastly, Record the millivolt reading or read the NO3-N concentration directly from a pH/ion meter.

In getting the Phosphorus content of soil, First is to scoop 2 grams of soil. Second, Add measured volume of soil to 50 milliliters Erlenmeyer flask, tapping the scoop on the funnel or flask to remove all of the soil from the scoop. Third, add 20 milliliters of extracting solution to each flask and shake at 200 or more epm for 5 minutes with the room temperature at 24 to 27C. Fourth, Filter extracts through Whatman No. 42 filter paper or through a similar grade of paper. Refilter if extracts are not clear. Fifth, Transfer a 2 milliliters aliquot to a test tube. Sixth, add 8 milliliters of working solution so that thorough agitation and mixing occurs. Seventh, Allow 10 minutes for color development. Read percentage transmittance or optical density on a colorimeter or spectrophotometer set at 882nm. Color is stable for about 2 hours. Then, prepare a standard curve by aliquoting 2 milliliters of each working standard, developing color and reading intensity in the same manner as the soil extracts. Plot color intensity against P concentration of the standards. Lastly, Determine ppm P in the extracts using the standard curve and convert ppm concentration in filtrate to concentration in the soil.

In getting the Potassium content of soil, first and foremost, prepare 2 grams of soil into an extraction flask. Second, add 20 milliliters of extracting solution to the extraction flask. Third, shake for 5 minutes on the shaker at 200 epm. Recheck speed weekly. Then, Filter the suspensions through Whatman No. 2 or equivalent filter paper. Refilter or repeat if the extract is cloudy. Next, set up the atomic absorption/emission spectrometer for K by emission. Lastly, Convert K concentration in the soil extracts solution to ppm in a soil.

To get the pH level of soil, first, get a pH kit. Then, conduct a soil test by getting a scoop of a soil and placing it in a container. Next, put the required chemicals to make the test accurately, Lastly, Compare the resulting color of the chart provided and pick the best match to identify your garden plots soil pH level.

To get the dry weight of the plant, first, remove the plants from the soil and wash off any loose soil. Second, blot the plants removing any free surface moisture. Third, dry the plants in an oven set to low heat (100 degrees) overnight. Fourth, let the plants cool in a dry environment (a Ziploc bag will keep moisture out) - in a humid environment the plant tissue will take up water. Once the plants have cooled weigh them on a scale. Lastly, Plants contain mostly water, so make sure you have a scale that goes down to milligrams since a dry plant will not weight very much.

In wet weight, first is to remove plants from soil and wash off any loose soil. Then, Blot plants gently with soft paper towel to remove any free surface moisture. Lastly, Weigh immediately (plants have a high composition of water, so waiting to weigh them may lead to some drying and therefore produce inaccurate data).