Tomato Inhibitor Projects

Water Deprivation Project

• A simple tomato inhibitor project that will teach a good lesson to young people is to simply take three tomato seeds planted in soil and water them at different levels. Provide one seed with no water, another with a normal amount and another with too much. The seeds with normal watering will grow; however, the other two will not.

Nitrogen

• If nitrogen is not present, tomato plants will cease to grow. To test whether nitrogen will inhibit tomato growth or promote it, take two potted tomato plants potted from the same soil source. Add nitrogen to the soil of only one plant. Observe the difference in growth over time.

Tomato Seeds

• Tomato seeds don't grow inside of a tomato because of the gel-like substance that surrounds them when they are inside the fruit. This substance inhibits their growth. To observe this, take two tomato seeds from a tomato. Wash one entirely clean and place it in a petri dish with water. Do the same thing except leave some of the gel residue. The cleaned tomato seed should be the only one that grows.

Tomatoes and Tobacco

• This project is best for older students. Tobacco residue has a devastating effect on the tomato plant because of tobacco mosaic disease. To show these effects, take two young tomato plants. Keep one separate and healthy. With the other, break apart a cigarette in your hands and then rub your hands over the leaf. The tobacco mosaic virus will stunt and change the growth of the infected plant.