Plants grow and move really slowly. Therefore, time-lapse videos of plants reveal details of their life that happens too slow to observe with the human eye.
Time-lapse video of corn growing (well-watered vs drought)
Time-lapse video of corn plants growing in well-watered conditions and drought conditions (alternating well-watered, drought, … from left to right in the flat). By the end of the video you can see that the three corn plants grown in well-watered conditions are bigger than the three that experience drought. Images are not taken during the 8 hours of night.
Leaf infected with pathogenic bacteria that gets sick and is shed
Time-lapse video of a leaf getting sick and and being shed after being treated with pathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae). Abscission happens at the base of the leaf at a specialized region of cells. Leaf shedding serves as a defense mechanism in plants to get rid of heavily infected leaves.
Time-lapse video of soybean plants growing
Soybean plants grown in normal conditions grow rapidly. Images are not taken during the 8 hours of night. Notice that growth occurs in the light and dark. Also notice that the shoots move in a circular motion that will help the plants wrap themselves around objects that they intent to climb on.
Nitrogen helps plants grow
This time-lapse video shows how important nitrogen is for plant growth. Before the video starts the plants have nearly exhausted the nitrogen in the soil. At the start of the video a small amount of nitrogen was added to the left 2 rows. Notice how the left two rows grow much more over the next 4.5 days. Photos were not taken during the 8 hours of night, however, the plants do grow at night.
Soybean symbiosis with Rhizobia
Legumes (beans) are capable of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The bacteria turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia that the plant can use. Soybean Rhizobia inoculum can really make soybeans grow much bigger and healthier without adding fertilizer. The time-lapse video below shows how beneficial Rhizobia can be to soybean growth. One month of growth is shown in about a minute and a half. All pots had identical soil. The only difference is the seeds that went into the pots on the right had Cel-Tech soybean inoculum on them. The Rhizobia form a symbiotic relationship with the soybean plants leading to nodule formation on the roots. These root nodules provide the plants with an abundant source of nitrogen.
Soybean growth details
- Soil (Promix BX) was autoclaved to kill residual bacteria.
- Seeds were planted into wet soil. Plants with Rhizobia were made by touching the seeds to Cel-Tech Inoculant prior to planting.
- Plants were grown in 16 hours of light per day at 23 degrees Celsius. Plants were watered as needed.
- Note: Extreme care is needed to prevent non-inoculated plants from “catching” the Rhizobia from the inoculated plants (ie. do not cross contaminate by splashing water or soil between the treatments). Soybeans are very susceptible to Rhizobia colonization.