1

HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

THE EFFECTS OF RICE WATER ON THE GROWTH OF OKRA PLANT

A Science Investigatory Project Presented to

the Basic Education Department

Holy Angel University

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Enrichment Science

Group 3

Fajardo, Dianne M.

Fischer, Natascha Jivana B.

Gadduang, Alodia P.

Galang, Triesha Mae D.

Guarin, Yeline Sydney G.

10 - St. Albert

August 2019
 2
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
The Effects of Rice Water on the Growth of Okra Plant

The purpose of this research is to help the world and its people in conserving water.

Water is part of the basic necessities of human being. According to Annan (2001), access to

harmless water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right .Another

purpose of this research is to help the farmers to find a much effective way to help the plant and

the crops to grow faster and to grow healthier. Lastly this research also aims to find a helpful

purpose for rice water instead of just throwing it.

Agriculture is the science, art or practice of cultivating the soil, planting crops, and

nurturing livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting

products (Merriam-Webster, 2011)

Rice production is the amount of rice paddy produced in a country each year. This

includes the quantities of the marketed production and the quantities consumed or used by the

producers. (“Rice production”, 2016)

The Philippines is the world’s eighth-largest rice producer. Rice area harvested has

expanded from nearly 3.8 million hectares in 1995 to about 4.4 million hectares in 2010. Rice is

a staple food for most Filipinos across the country. The nation’s per capital rice consumption

rose from 93.2 kg per year in 1995 to 123.3 kg per year in 2009. Similarly, per capital caloric

intake from rice rose from 917 kcal per day in 1995 to 1,213 kcal per day in 2009. Protein

requirements from rice, on average, increased from 29.7% in 1995 to 34.8% per person per day

in 2009. (“Recent developments”, 2019)

With the help of the Department of agriculture, the national rice production in the

Philippines had been increasing steadily during the last 50 years at a rate of 3.18%. the average
 3
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
rice crops yield is higher than that of Thailand from whom the Philippines import rice. (Javier,

2018)

Rice has been a very big part of every Filipinos’ dining table, it contains nutrients that

can help people in doing their daily activities. According to Nagdeve (2019), rice

contains minerals like calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, manganese, selenium, and copper. It is

also rich in vitamins like niacin, pantothenic acid, and thiamin.

The researchers chose two different types of rice that is available in the Philippines, first

is the Sinandomeng and the other one is Dinorado. Sinandomeng rice is a traditional favorite of

every Filipinos . It is white and long grain. It is soft, slightly chewy and fragrant specially when

newly harvested, when cooked. (“Rice 101”, 2016). Sinandomeng is a local rice variety which

has 3 classifications namely: regular, fancy and special. (Juanico, 2018)

On the other hand, Dinorado is native upland rice characterized by its pinkish grain,

sweet aroma, and good eating quality. This exotic rice from Arakan Valley. (Veneracion, 2019).

It is a kind of pigmented rice which are said to be rich in phytonutrients or the chemicals in

plants beneficial to the body. Benefits of phytonutrients include doses of antioxidants, immune

system boost, and cellular repair (Romero, 2011). It is also found that upon comparing the

pigmented rice varieties, Dinorado contains the highest zinc and phosphorus content and there is

higher mineral content in pigmented rice compared to non-pigmented rice like Sinandomeng.

(Hurtada, Barrion, & Nguyen – Orca, 2018).

It is common knowledge that before rice can be consumed, it should be rinsed properly

to remove the possible dirt it has. Asians eat rice as staple food. In average, they wash rice 4

times to cook and 5.6 times more volume of water then rice is thrown away. Around 16,555 tons
 4
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
of rice water is thrown away daily. (Rice Water, 2019).Billions of people around the world have

no access to safely managed drinking water, defined as water that is available on premises,

accessible when needed and free from contamination. In the Philippines, around 1 in 10 people

still do not have access to improved water sources (Water Shortage, 2019).According to

Wikipedia (2019), it was said that on early March 2019 and up until now, it was estimated to be

52,000 households by Manila Water began to experience water scarcity in numerous areas

across Metro Manila. About ten thousand households across this city began to lose water

supplies on exactly March 6, 2019.Water that has been used to rinse rice can help plants grow

better (Growing Flowers, 2017).

Sinandomeng contains the highest iron content while Dinorado contains the highest zinc

and phospohorus content (Hurtada, 2018).

Rice water contains starch, potassium and phosphorus which are beneficial to plants and

traces of these can be found in rice water (Keller, 2019).

Based from Tarafdar (2017), starches are mainly present in rice water which is beneficial

to plants that encourages healthy bacteria to grow in the rhizospher. The rhizosphere is the area

around a plant root that is inhabited by a unique population of microorganisms influenced

(Hiltner, 1904). Other than that, Fe and Zn have been reported to be seen in some cultivated rice

water.

Rice water contains very small NPK qualities so it is not applicable to replace fertilizer

for plants. Instead the starches is the key ingredients. It has Lacto Bacilli, a beneficial bacteria

which cultures and feeds the good fungi like my corrhizae. Which in turn feeds the plant roots

and makes it stronger, healthier and more resistant to diseases (Ben, 2017).
 5
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
According to Dr. Kris (2019), generally after the rice has been washed. It loses up to

70% protein, 30% crude fiber, 15% amino acids, 25% calcium, 47% iron, 59% thiamine, 60%

niacin, 41% potassium and 26% riboflavin. These nutrients lost in the rice is gained by the

water, therefore, rice water can be beneficial to plants.

Rice contains carbohydrates that are high. These carbohydrates are degraded when

washing and can be broken into simpler elements which can provide nutrients for plants.

(“Fertilizer And”, 2019)

Just like potato water, rice water contains valuable nutrients for houseplants. The

starches from leftover rice water help encourage beneficial soil bacteria (Brown, 2019).

The Filipinos are now facing water scarcity especially the people living in Manila or the

Manileños. And based from Diaz (2019), residents from Manila and its neighboring provinces

will have to undergo to the extended hours of water supply interruption every day for two more

months or until August.

A group of environmentalists has warned that the Metro Manila Clark area and some

parts of Pampanga will be experiencing water shortage because of the massive development

which destroys rainforests and watershed area (Navales, 2019).

Plants need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur and calcium in order to

grow and survive. These essential nutrients help create new cells that organize into plant tissue.

(“The 6”, 2019)

Growing Okra plant is easy. It permits poor soils, little moisture, and a range of soil. The

best season to grow an okra plant is during hot seasons. Okra should be planted in allocation at

least 6 hours of full sun every day. Based from Vinje (2019), despite of surviving in dry

conditions, okra produces more pods with adequate or sufficient watering. Little or not enough
 6
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
water on okra plant will produce tough pods and may be prone to afternoon wilt. When growing

okra, pods will be ready for harvest at about two months from planting (Mierzejewski, 2019),

which allows our experiment to be feasible.

General Objective:

The general objective of this study is to determine the effect of rice water on the growth

of okra plant.

Specific Objectives:

Specifically, it aims to answer the following:

1. How may use of rice water on the growth of okra plant in termsof:
a.) number of leaves;
b.) height of plant; and
c.) length of stem
2. How is the growth of okra plant be describes in terms of:
a.) types of rice; and
b.) amount of rice

There is a significant difference on the effect of rice water on the growth of okra plant.