How Do Morning Glory Tendrils Respond to Different Touch Stimuli?

Chen, Maya

Many tropical areas are experiencing the fast and immediate growth of regional vines in their respective areas. By understanding more about plants and their response to touch, we can attempt to solve this problem. We tested how vines respond to touch, and if the curling of plant tendrils depends on the texture of the support. We planted 64 pots of morning glories to collect a large pool of data and minimize the effects of other variables from the experiment. Four types of supports were used: screws, dowels, glass rods and stir sticks. We predicted that the rougher textured supports will cause the morning glory tendrils to curl further than those whose supports have a smooth texture.