1. Jobert Exsatel
Addition of Aspirin to the soil will help Plants Grow
As botanical studies have grown and developed, scientists are studying the effects
of chemicals on various aspects of plants. Whether the study evaluates the effects of genetically
modifying enzymes, or something as simple as adjusting light exposure for plants; these studies
are an important part of the progression of science. Aspirin is one of the most common
household drugs available. The active ingredient in Aspirin is a chemical called salicylic (Sal). In
humans, we know the pain relieving effects of salicylic acid in our bodies, however our study
will research the effects of salicylic acid in plants.
Salicylic acid, a phenolic phytohormone, is actively involved in plant functions.
Originally derived mostly from the willow, salicylic acid is ubiquitously found throughout many
plant species. Not only does salicylic acid function as a signaling molecule, but its active role in
plants allows it to be considered a hormone. Salicylic acid is capable of moving freely among
cells and tissues, enabling plants to utilize it in several different ways (Klessing and Malamy,
1994).
Some studies have revealed that oxidation in soil is found to be the inhibition of root
elongation. However, other researchers and scientists found that salicylic acid has a positive
impact on storage root dry weight, carotenoids, and increase the total antioxidant in shoot and
storage root. They also found that salicylic acid increased the plant’s total activity (Janda et al,
2000; Gunes, Nov. 2007).
Today many agricultural and farming industries are trying to increase the growth and
production of their plants. With this experiment we hope to discover a potential benefit of
salicylic acid that benefits plants for farmers and industry worldwide. In this paper, we describe
the effects of salicylic acid on plants on an agricultural scale. We plan to utilize all these ideas to
gather evidence for the experimentation of our hypothesis- adding aspirin (i.e. salicylic acid) to
soil will increase plant growth and fruit production.
Materials and Methods
Using the two lights far red light Pfr and the red light Pr fixture mounts and the two
separate lengths of chain to hang the fluorescent light fixture with the four Apollo 54 watt
growth lights attached. Attach the Brinks EZ 24hr light timer, and plug both the light fixture and
the timer into the nearest socket to the testing area to set the thermostat to ~75 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Fill the 6 one (1) gallon pots with three quarts each of the Miracle Gro Organic potting
soil using the yellow plastic scoop so that it is not aggressive to the plant. Use a porous soil in
which root of young tree can percolate easily, dig three small holes in a triangle formation about
2 inches apart with your pinky finger about ¼ of an inch into the soil of the 6 pots. In each hole,
put a single seed and cover it with little amount of fertilized soil.
For the sake of this experiment plant growth will be defined primarily as stem length and
secondarily as fruit production. The average plant length for our species of tomato is ~6-10
inches and fruit production is ~ 3clusters of 5 fruit (i.e. 15 fruit). Allow 3 to 10 days to pass

2. Jobert Exsatel
watering each pot every three days with 100mL of water using beaker 1. At this point if
germination has occurred in the AG pots add the aspirin solution as described above to the two
AG pots.
Allow 4 weeks to pass for plant growth watering every 3 days using a 100mL beaker of
ID water 1), and observe stem length using a ruler and record your observations of each plant. At
4 weeks transplant the plants into larger pots using the remaining 14 quarts of Miracle Gro
Organic potting soil. Let plants continue to grow for an additional six weeks (so altogether 10
weeks from seed planting) watering at the same rate of every 3 days with the same amount of
water (100mL via beaker 1). Stem length was measured (cm) and data obtained was recorded.

3. Jobert Exsatel
Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography
Gunes, Aydin, and Mehmet Alpaslan. "Impact of Exogenous Salicylic Acid on the Growth,
Antioxidant Activity and Physiology of Carrot Plants Subjected to Combined Salinity
and Boron Toxicity." Impact of Exogenous Salicylic Acid on the Growth, Antioxidant
Activity and Physiology of Carrot Plants Subjected to Combined Salinity and Boron
Toxicity. Elsevier B.V., 14 Nov. 2007. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423807001215>.
 This article is an investigation of the impact of exogenous salicylic acid on the growth,
physiology and antioxidant activity of carrot.
Janda, T., et al. "Effect of benzoic acid and aspirin on chilling tolerance and photosynthesis in
young maize plants." Maydica 45.1 (2000): 29-33. PDF. 9 October 2015.
<http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20000710520.html;jsessionid=4C83534C6BC5B046
EB4C26440643449E;jsessionid=44887A877A2436B5E3C4FC68E52CB260>.
 Not only does this article also study the possibility of element tolerance from
salicylic acid, but it also indicates that the plants may have severe damage caused
to them as well. This is certainly important to note for our study, as we now know
the extreme adverse effect salicylic acid (in aspirin) can have on plants.
Klessig, Daniel F. and Jocelyn Malamy. "The salicylic acid signal in plants." Klessig, Daniel F.
and Jocelyn Malamy. Plant Molecular Biology: Signals and Signal Transduction
Pathways in Plants. Ed. Klaus Palme. Springer Netherlands, 1994. 203-222. Print. 9
October 2015.
 For general information on salicylic acid on plants, this is a wonderful article! It
describes the history of salicylic acid and other chemicals, and also continues to
investigate the effect on plants. For our study, this is a great resource on finding
general information on the effects of salicylic acid
Korkmaz, Ahmet. "Inclusion of Acetyl Salicylic Acid and Methyl Jasmonate into the Priming
Solution Improves Low-temperature Germination and Emergence of Sweet Pepper."
HortScience 2005: 197-200. PDF. 9 October 2015.
<http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/40/1/197.full.pdf+html>.
 It is important to use this source because it shows how ASA increase the rate of
germination. The fastest rate from seeds in KNO3 supplemented with 0.1 mm
ASA.

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Naylor, Martin, et al. "Salicylic Acid Can Induce Resistance to Plant Virus Movement."
Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 11.9 (1998): 860-868. PDF. 9 October 2015.
<http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.1998.11.9.860>.
 Specifically, this article refers to the potential viral resistance that plants exhibit
upon being treated with salicylic acid. However, it also indicates that plants also
experience a negative impact on their photosynthetic potential. This is very
important to note, as these effects may be seen in our study as well.
Pancheva, T. V., L. P. Popova and A. N. Uzunova. "Effects of salicylic acid on growth and
photosynthesis in barley plants." Journal of Plant Physiology 149.1-2 (1996): 57-63.
PDF. 9 October 2015.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0176161796801738>.
 This article talks about how Salicylic Acid reduces the gas exchange over time in
plants. Very useful in our experiment to set time and length of exposure as factors
for control and variables.
Raskin, Ilya. "Salicylate, A New Plant Hormone." Plant Physiology 1992: 799-803. PDF. 9
October 2015. <http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/99/3/799.full.pdf+html>
 This article helps in our research by discussing the effects both beneficial and
negative of Salicylic Acid in the process of flowering and plant resistance to
temperature and disease. Useful like the other article we have on Salicylic Acid
(Aspirin) being a key component to the plant's defenses.
Salehi, Said, Abdolreza Khajehzadeh and Farhad Khorsandi. "Growth of Tomato as Affected by
Foliar Application of Salicylic Acid and Salinity." American-Eurasian J. Agric. &
Environ. Sci 2011: 564-567. PDF. 9 October 2015.
<http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Farhad_Khorsandi/publication/268404722_Growth
_of_Tomato_as_Affected_by_Foliar_Application_of_Salicylic_Acid_and_Salinity/links/
54eb3cff0cf2f7aa4d5a947e.pdf>.
 This article goes to the same direction as our hypothesis. The result shows that a
low concentration of Salicylic Acid can show a better result than a high
concentration in salinity.
Senaratna, Tissa, et al. "Acetyl salicylic acid (Aspirin) and salicylic acid induce multiple stress
tolerance in bean and tomato plants." Plant Growth Regulation 30.2 (2000): 157-161.
PDF. 9 October 2015. <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1006386800974#page-
1>.
 This article discusses the indication that salicylic acid (found in aspirin) can help
plants increase their tolerance to excessive heat, cold, and drought conditions.
This is important to note for our study, as we will design our experiment based on
this knowledge.

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Vicente, Mariana Rivas-San and Javier Plasencia. "Salicylic acid beyond defence: its role in
plant growth and development." Oxford Journal 62.10 (2011): 3321-3338. PDF. 9
October 2015. <http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/10/3321.short>.
 This article discusses the extensive role salicylic acid plays in contributing to
plant health. Specifically, it explains how the compound allows for pathogen
defense and overall plant well-being.
 This article shows how salicylic acid also plays a role in plant heath as well as
functioning as a hormone. It specifically mentions how salicylic acid protects the
plant from stress such as high or low temperatures, and heavy metals.