The Effects of Adding Amino Acid, L-Glycine, to Soybean Plant Growth and Development

Soybeans are a great source of protein, which are crucial for both the human and animal diet. Because of this, they are found in 80% of most foods in the United States. Chocolate, soy milk, protein bars, and tofu are just a few foods with soybeans as the main ingredient. Soybeans are also used to feed farm animals because of their nutritional value. In industry, 25% of biodiesel fuel is composed of soybean oil. This helps decrease greenhouse gas and increases energy efficiency by 15%. Because of soybeans’ wide range of uses, they have become an important part of everyday life.

Proteins, which are made up of amino acids, are the building blocks of the soybean plant. If one amino acid was added as a food source, would the soybean plant’s growth and development be enhanced? It is reasonable to hypothesize that the addition of the amino acid L-glycine will increase the rate of soybean germination and plant growth.

The experiment compared two different ways L-glycine was used as a food source compared to a control that was grown without L-glycine as a food source. Each soil pod was exposed to 6 hours of a LED grow light per day, and every other day each pod was provided with water or a l-glycine mixture. Measurements were taken over a two-week period. After two weeks, germination rates, plant growth, and root structure were compared. The experiment was carried out twice.

At the conclusion of the experiment, the L-glycine/L-glycine rate of germination and growth was greater than both the L-glycine/water and water/water in both experiments. Interestingly, the root structure of the L-glycine/L-glycine plants had a more complex root system. These findings confirmed the hypothesis.