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Growth in living organisms’ mass, size, and weight is the most elementary and noticeable characteristic. The meristematic activity of the apical meristems in the root and shoot apices is responsible for the plant’s lengthening. Crescograph is the device which measures this plant growth. The crescograph was invented by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose in 1928 during his experiment to prove the plant has life. He wanted to know the response of plants to the effect of different environmental conditions. This interest Bose had in the stimulus of plants became the reason behind the invention of the crescograph.
What is a Crescograph?
Crescograph is a mechanical device to measure the growth or blossom of plants. In the early twentieth century, eminent Indian scientist Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose invented the crescograph. This device consists of smoked plates of glass and a set of gears. The crescograph can also measure and record the plant growth under several factors such as chemical reactions, temperature, electric supply, the effect of gases etc. Bose used the device to research the activeness of the plant under the various lighting states. Randall Fonts invented the modern electronic crescograph with a range of 1:1000 to 1:10,000.
Construction of Crescograph
The basic construction of Bose Crescograph consists of the glass plate having a smock and many clockwise gears. This plate in the crescograph helps record the growth of the pick of the plant.
The scale is used in this device to measure plant growth. There are two levers in a crescograph device, in which each lever is capable of measuring the hundredth time of magnification. The device can measure ten thousand times the magnification with the help of its two levers. Components of the crescograph are listed below:
S. No. | Component | Use |
1 | Series of Gears | The gears in a crescograph rotate in a clockwise direction according to the movement of plants. |
2 | Smocked Glass Plate | Plates are used to record the data and calibrate at a regular period to maintain the precision of the device. |
3 | Differential Transformer | Measure the movement |
4 | Moveable Core | It is hinged between two points. |
Working Principle of Crescograph
The crescograph works on the principle of the conventional oscillating recorder. The device records the data against the response of the plant. In the crescograph, a wire is fixed with precaution at one end of the plant. On the other side, the intricate clockwork is used to record the growth rate of plant size.
As the movement in the plant happens, the plate of glass in the crescograph gets the reflection. This reflection is recorded in the scale of the crescograph with the help of a series of gears. The motion of the plant’s tip recorded by the plates is under a magnetic scale of 1:10,000.
A differential transformer works in the modern crescograph, which generates an electric output voltage. This voltage is proportional to the displacement of the moveable core attached to the crescograph. When the core moves, the differential transformer generates an output voltage. This information is used to sense the displacement and measure the motion of the plant.
Types of Plant Growth Measuring Devices
Along with the crescograph, other vital devices are used to measure plants’ growth.
Auxanometer- Auxanometer is a device of plant growth measurement which is simple in construction. A flexible wire is attached to the plant in an auxanometer device. The wire goes over a pulley which is joined with an indicator. The indicator indicates the values of plant growth on a curved shaped scale.
Non-Contact Device-Such devices measure the growth of plants using a single or set of sensors. This device is used to study movements in plants without physical contact with them. The sensor used in this device senses the movement in the plant and records it for further measurement. For example, sensor metres.
Applications of Crescograph
Bose does the invention of the crescograph to see the patterns of motion in plants under different conditions. The conventional and modern type of crescograph has the following applications.
To measure the growth of plants.
Study the plant’s behaviour and movement in different lighting conditions.
In agriculture, find the optimum environmental conditions for a crop or plant to grow.
To research the factors that affect the growth of a particular plant In Botany.
The device is also helpful in finding the time when a plant attained a certain height. This way, local municipal bodies can reschedule the cutting of plants in gardens and around the roads.
Conclusion
The growth of a plant is controlled by gene body processes and factors of environmental conditions. Plant growth is measured in plant length, increased in the total period. The crescograph measures the development of the plant.
This device measures the movement of plants and records it with the help of leaves and smoked glass tubes. The range of a typical crescograph is ten thousand times magnificent. The crescograph made by Bose is now advanced with electronic components to measure plant growth efficiently and accurately.
