A SIMPLE METHOD FOR GROWING PLANTS 
J. M. Brannon 
(Received for publication December 6, 1920) 
In growing plants under sterile conditions, investigators have employed 
either agar cultures or some other substratum of solid or semi-solid character 
placed in culture tubes, or else they have used water or soil cultures. In 
the water or soil cultures the roots only are maintained under sterile con- 
ditions; the leaves and stems being exposed to an unconfined atmosphere. 
In the course of certain experiments which are to be reported at a future 
date, it was found that neither the agar-culture method nor the water- 
culture method was satisfactory for growing green plants in the dark. 
In the course of investigations on the organic nutrition of plants, it 
was noted at various times that seeds would germinate and seedlings would 
grow even when entirely immersed in a liquid medium. As a result of 
these incidental observations, it was decided to test the possibility of 
using such liquid cultures for the investigations. Striking successes were 
obtained, and the superiority of this method for growing plants in the dark 
over the agar method or the water culture methods hitherto used was at 
once apparent. 
In a flask or culture tube, the size depending upon the plants to be 
grown and upon the duration of the experiment, is placed the culture 
solution. The depth of the solution should not exceed six centimeters. 
The vessels are plugged with cotton and then autoclaved. The seeds to be 
sown are then sterilized and the desired number sown in the culture solution. 
In the work here reported, the seeds were sterilized by the calcium hypoch- 
lorite method of Wilson.^ This method of growing plants has been used 
with flax, alfalfa, corn, pea, and timothy. These were all grown in the 
dark. The pea and alfalfa have been grown for nine months in the dark 
when supplied with sugar. The method may also be used for growing 
plants in the light. 
Table i gives data from an experiment with timothy grown in the dark, 
Table i 
Solution Used 
Weight of Individual 
Plant Exposed in Gms. 
Average Length of 
Plants in Cm. 
No. of Leaves 
Pfeffer's + sugar 
0.0180 
13-5 
4 
Pfeffer's + sugar 
0.0172 
15. 
Pfeffer's + sugar 
0.0184 
16. 
2 
Pfeffer's alone 
0.0071 
6.5 
1 Wilson, J. K. Calcium hypochlorite as a seed sterilizer. Amer. Jour, Bot. 2: 420- 
427. 1915. 
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