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What Is The Effect Of Oil In Plant’s Growth?

What Is The Effect Of Oil In Plant's Growth?

Introduction: (Initial Observation)

Plants absorb water and nutrients from the soil and light from the sun to grow. Nutrients for plants are also called fertilizers. All nutrients will be carried in to the plant roots and stem and leaves by water. Water can also carry harmful material in to the plant. Good nutrients can help plants grow faster, however harmful material can have a reverse effect and slow down the plant growth. Knowing what material can help plant growth and what material are harmful for plants can help us protect our plants and produce healthier plants.

Many studies have been done to see how different material, especially industrial and household material, affect plant growth.

In this project we will study the effect of oil on plant growth.



Project advisor

Information Gathering:

Find out about plant nutrients and plant growth. Read books, magazines, or ask professionals who might know in order to learn about the effect of oils on plant growth. Keep track of where you got your information from.

There are many resources on the Internet related to oil spills and its harmful effects on the environment, however I could not find any thing related to the effect of vegetable oils on plant growth. There are also many resources in libraries and on the internet about plant growth in general including:




Question/ Purpose:

What is the effect of oil on a plant growth? We all know that plants need water and nutrients (also called fertilizers). Does oil work as a nutrient for plant? Will the plants grow better or die because of the oil?

Identify Variables:


The independent or manipulated variable for this project is Oil (Presence, absence).

The dependent variable is plant health and growth.



Since oil is not water soluble, it can not be absorbed by plant and may also prevent water and nutrients from getting to the plant. So I think oil is harmful for plants.

Experiment Design:

The instructions below outline a protocol for conducting plant growth experiments in the laboratory. You may want to make adaptations for use in home, a greenhouse, or outdoors.


  • pots or planting trays
  • potting soil (compost + soil)
  • seeds
  • light source (sunlight or artificial lighting)

General Procedure:

1. Plant your seeds, water them, and place them in a well-lit location. Many types of seeds will work, but raddish’s or lettuce are often chosen because they grow quickly. We have used soybeans in the following example.

2. Keep all the pots in the same setting to minimize any variation in temperature, lighting, pests, and other environmental factors. Even when the environmental conditions are kept as constant as possible, it is a good idea to randomize the grouping of plants rather than placing all the plants that are receiving the same treatment together in one group. This helps to further minimize the effect of any environmental differences.

3. Record on a daily basis the number of seeds that have germinated, plant growth, and observations about plant health such as color, vigor, or damage due to pests and diseases. You can decide what measurements to use as indicators of plant growth; possibilities include plant height, number, and size of leaves.


  1. Get four pots and 12 soaked soybean seeds.
  2. Fill each pot about 2/3 full with potting soil.
  3. In each pot , plant 3 soybean seed covering them loosely with about 1 cm. of soil (approximately the width of the seed).
  4. Label two pots with control.
  5. Label two pots with oil
  6. Place all four pots in a tray and water with tap water until plants reach a height of 18 to 20 cm. (This will take a week to 10 days.) Make and record observations of height and any other important observation.
  7. When all plants have reached a height of 18 to 20 cm. , continue with the final stage of your experiment.
  8. Pour four table spoon liquid oil next to the stem of two of the plants. Continue watering and make observations for another week.

Materials and Equipment:

  1. Soybean seeds
  2. Small pots
  3. Distilled water or tap water
  4. Vegetable oil
  5. Potting soil
  6. Metric rulers
  7. Trays for plants
  8. Watering cans

Results of Experiment (Observation):

Record the result of your observation in a table like this:

Height before Height after # of Live to Dead Leaves
Control 1 7 in. 8 in. 25/0
Control 2 6 in. 7 in. 23/0
Oil 1 7 in. 6 in. 24/8
Oil 2 6 in. 6 in. 23/6

This table will not show the initial plant growth period. It will show the conditions of the plant before and after using oil in 2 out of 4 pots. The last column shows the total number of leaves and the number of dead leaves.

Numbers in the table are not real numbers and are written here just as an example.


No calculation is required for this project.

Summary of Results:





Oil affects the growth of the plant. My hypothesis was correct and two plants polluted with oil had lower growth and got damaged. I believe a similar test with mineral oil can damage and destroy the plant in a much shorter time.

Related Questions & Answers:


Possible Errors:




Write a list of your references at this section. You will need to visit a local or school library and see some books about about plants, irrigation, growth and reproduction. If you see any related material in these books, add them to your report or use them in your project.


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