A buoyancy technique for measuring plant volumes

Abstract

Volume measurements of plant organs are not commonly used in the analysis of plant growth. Volume is, however, a useful, non-destructive measure of plant size and is particularly suitable for plants growing in water culture. All techniques of measuring plant volumes that are described in the literature measure the volume of a liquid that is displaced by the immersion of the plant material. The "buoyancy" technique is based on the principle of Archimedes and is an improvement on displacement methods in that it is sensitive to very small volumes, does not damage plants and is extremely rapid.

Keywords: buoyancies|plants|measurements|volumes|plant organs|apparatus|techniques|plant growth|plant sizes|displacements|volume measurements|Archimedes|methods