The pot experiment
A pot experiment on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), with defined treatments, shared conditions and multiple growth measurements.
Design
How was the experiment organised?
- Crop
- Cowpea — Vigna unguiculata
- Sowing
- The methodology reports sowing 144 seeds, then transplanting seedlings into pots.
- Pots
- Two seedlings per 500 mL pot, with at least three pots per treatment according to the report.
- Treatments
- Soil with no amendment, milk powder at 5% and 10%, and three biochar treatments at 5% as described in the methodology.
- Shared condition
- The report states that liquid fertiliser was added to all pots two weeks after transplanting.
Project research report — treatments and experimental conditions
Treatments
Treatment and code definitions
| Treatment | Description |
|---|---|
| Soil, no amendment | The control treatment in the experiment. |
| Milk powder 5% | Direct milk-powder amendment; the report states plants died in this treatment. |
| Milk powder 10% | Direct milk-powder amendment; the report states plants died in this treatment. |
| Milk biochar with ophiolite — 5% (BO) | A biochar treatment at 5% as described in the methodology. |
| Milk biochar with palm leaves — 5% (BP) | A biochar treatment at 5% as described in the methodology. |
| Milk biochar with dried cow manure — 5% (BC) | A biochar treatment at 5% as described in the methodology. |
Measurements
Recorded growth indicators
Leaf area
A measure of leaf surface area within the experimental conditions.
Fresh biomass
Fresh plant weight at measurement time.
Dry biomass
Plant weight after drying; the report notes lower values in some dry-weight measurements.
SPAD chlorophyll index
SPAD is an instrument index reading, not a chlorophyll percentage.
Leaf count
The number of leaves counted per plant.
Stem length
Stem length measurement.
Stem thickness
Stem thickness measurement.
Branch count
Number of branches per plant.