Sprout Project: Growth of Lentils and Mung Beans

Mike DarlingDan HornMth 425

Background Information! A sprout is produced when a seed starts growing into a

vegetable. ! Sprouts can grow from the seeds of vegetables, from

grains such as buckwheat, and from beans.! Sprouts vary in texture and taste. Some are spicy (radish

and onion sprouts), some are hardy and are often used in oriental food (mung bean), others are more delicate (alfalfa) and are used in salads and sandwiches to add texture and moistness.

Background Information (cont.)! Brief History of Sprouts

– Ancient China– Sailors in 1700s– World War II

! Nutritional Value

Nutritional Value

Nazareth Sprout Project! Interdisciplinary project involving Biology, Chemistry,

and Mathematics Departments– Biology: observation of seedling growth and development– Chemistry: extracting and analyzing chemical changes during

sprout development; plotting change of content as a function of time

– Biochemistry: extracting and analyzing DNA– Calculus: analysis of growth rates– Modeling: modeling sprout growth

! Involved approximately 68 students

Future Projects! National Academy of Sciences: key provision

emphasizes importance of interdisciplinary research! Botanical Society of America meeting of select educators

– goal of open-inquiry based learning has led to development of national program

– www.botany.org/scientific_inquiry/

Mung Bean (Phaseolus aureus)! most commonly used and preferred bean for sprouting

! Good source of protein, fiber, and vitamin C! 3 ounce serving = 30 calories! most often used in Asian dishes

Lentil (Lens culinaris)! 26% Protein! Can be eaten raw or cooked! added to steam vegetables or soup

Data for the Sprout Project: MungBean

Mung Beans: Root Mung Beans: Shoot Mung Beans: Leaves0 1.5 0

0.5 2.5 01 2.7 0.5

2.5 3 0.753 3.7 1.2

3.7 5.5 1.34.5 7.2 1.54.6 10.8 2.25 16.2 2.4

5.5 17 2.55.5 17.2 2.75.6 17.2 2.75.6 17.4 2.95.8 17.5 2.95

Day1234567891011121314

We observed that the shoot of the Mung Bean was constrained to a growth of approximately 17.5 to 18 cm because of its living environment (the jar).

Shoot Growth of the Mung Bean

0

5

10

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20

0 5 10 15

Time (days)

Leng

th (c

m)

Using 17.8 as the growth constraint, we found the model of the shoot growth of the Mung Bean to be:Sn+1=0.0531(17.8-Sn)Sn+Sn

Where Sn is the size of the shoot on day n.

Mung Bean Shoot Comparison

0

5

10

15

20

0 5 10 15 20

Actual Length (cm)

Pre

dict

ed L

engt

h (c

m)

Root Growth of the Mung Bean

01234567

0 5 10 15

Time (days)

Leng

th (c

m) We observed a

growth constraint for the Mung Bean root of 5.8 to 6 cm.

Using a growth constraint of 5.9cm, we modeled the growth of the Mung Bean root as:Rn+1=0.056(5.9-Rn)Rn+ Rn

Where Rn is the length, in cm, of the root on a given day n.

Mung Bean Root Comparison

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Actual Value (cm)

Pre

dict

ed V

alue

(cm

)

Leaf Growth of the Mung Bean

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

0 5 10 15

Time (days)

Leng

th (c

m)

A growth constraint of approximately 3cm was observed for the leaf of the Mung Bean.

Using this constraint, we were able to model the growth of the Mung Bean leaf as follows:Ln+1=0.0803(3-Ln)Ln+Ln

Where Ln is the length of the leaf on day n.

Mung Bean Leaf Comparison

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Actual Length (cm)

Pred

icte

d Le

ngth

(cm

)

Data for the Sprout Project: Lentils

Day Lentils: Root Lentils: Shoot Lentils: Leaves1 0.3 0 02 1 0 03 2 1 0.34 2.5 1.75 0.35 3 2.2 0.56 3.6 4.5 0.67 4.3 6.5 0.78 5 8 0.79 5.1 9.1 0.710 5.1 9.6 0.711 5.2 10.5 0.712 5.2 10.7 0.813 5.3 10.8 0.814 5.3 10.9 0.9

A growth constraint of about 11cm was observed for the Lentil shoot.

We believe this is because the lentils became intertwined and constrained themselves, as opposed to the Mung Beans entirely filling their living space.

Shoot Growth of the Lentil

02

468

1012

0 5 10 15

Time (days)

Leng

th (c

m)

We used the 11cm growth constraint to create the following model:Sn+1=0.051(11-Sn)Sn+Sn

Where Sn is the length of the shoot on day n.

Lentil Shoot Comparison

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4

6

8

10

12

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Actual Length (cm)

Pre

dict

ed L

engt

h (c

m)

We approximated the growth constraint for the Lentil root to be 5.5cm. This appears to be a natural constraint based on the data and the atmosphere in which the lentils were grown.

Using this constraint, we constructed the following model for the growth of the Lentil root:Rn+1=0.0856(11-Rn)Rn+Rn

Where Rn is the length of the root on day n.

Lentil Root Comparison

0

1

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3

4

5

6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Actual Length (cm)

Pred

icte

d Le

ngth

(cm

)

Root Growth of the Lentil

0123

45

6

0 5 10 15

Time (days)

Leng

th (c

m)

Lentil Leaf Growth! The growth of the leaf of the lentil was difficult to

measure because of the shape of the leaves. Because of this and the lack of a consistent constraint, we were unable to create a model for the growth of the leaf.

Leaf Growth of the Lentil

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0 5 10 15

Time (days)

Leng

th (c

m)

Sprout growth over 14 daysEthnobotany 2005

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Day of experiment

Leng

th (c

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broccoli (s)pop cornbroccoli (g)lentils (green)buckwheatmung beansradisheslentils (red)sunflowerschickpeaswheat, hard redryemung beansAdzuki beansred cloverquinoaalfalfawheatberriesmillet

References! http://www.isga-sprouts.org/! http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8106.html! http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV024! http://botany.org/scientific_inquiry/