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Life science

Biology is taught to every high school student in the United States.

Only 1–2% of the US population is involved in farming. Most students have no direct experience with farming or modern food production techniques. Current biology standards focus on the study of photosynthesis and respiration at the cellular level; studying plants used for crops allows students to apply that knowledge to the real world. These activities will engage students in hands-on labs to help them to better understand where their food comes from.

AFNR plant systems
unit 5 lessons

AFNR plant systems

How do we develop and manage plant systems? Each plant is classified according to broad categories based on characteristics they share. New DNA technology has allowed us to be more specific in determining the “relatives” of plants. This…
A student’s guide to careers in agronomy
Video

A student’s guide to careers in agronomy

Agronomy is key to helping produce more food for a growing world population. Learn about the educational path to this agriscience career and what an agronomist does. Do your interests fit with this field? Thanks to the Mississippi Soybean Promotion…
Cover crop benefits and the soybean microbiome
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Cover crop benefits and the soybean microbiome‍

The soil microbiome can be defined as a community of living organisms in the soil which includes the combination of bacterial and fungal life. “We are studying the effects of cover crop termination on bacterial and fungal communities in the soil…
Cover crops and weed control
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Cover crops and weed control‍

Some herbicides have residual carryover that can negatively impact the establishment of cover crops. An alternative method of weed control may be the actual use of cover crops to suppress weeds.
Cover crops benefit wildlife
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Cover crops benefit wildlife‍

Cover crops provide many species of wildlife with food and shelter. If you want to maximize wildlife benefits, avoid cover crop monocultures. Cover crop diversity and interspersion are keys to improving wildlife habitat.
Freeze Seed
student research project

Freeze Seed

For this experiment, we conducted a trial to find out what would happen if we grew seeds that were frozen versus seeds that were left at room temperature. Our hypothesis was that the frozen seeds would grow at a slower pace than the normal seeds. To…
It's a drought: time for soybeans
student research project

It's a drought: time for soybeans

In this project, five different types of soybeans were tested in three sequentially staged droughts with one control group. My hypothesis was that soybean P24T05R would do best in drought, and soybean R2C2450 would do the worst. The materials used…
Keeping crops healthy
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Keeping crops healthy‍

Soil microbes live in the water films around roots, using water to travel around and to process nutrients. Unfortunately, either too much rain or not enough, greatly slows down plant nutrient acquisition.
Learning and using gel electrophoresis in class
article

Learning and using gel electrophoresis in class

After attending last summer’s Ag Biotech Academy workshop, Catherine Ledford-Jones used the gel electrophoresis lesson with her biology class at Dixie High School. The workshop provided an opportunity to go through the lab in order to be familiar…
Maintaining our yield: assessing biotic and abiotic factors
unit 3 lessons

Maintaining our yield: assessing biotic and abiotic factors

How do biotic and abiotic factors affect populations? Create experiments to test how abiotic factors impact soybean germination, go into the field and laboratory to determine the impact of aphid populations on soybeans, and experiment with aphid…
Meet the bean: soybeans are everywhere!
unit 4 lessons

Meet the bean: soybeans are everywhere!

What is a soybean? Why are soybeans such a valuable crop? Here are some activities that are perfect for agriculture days, county fairs, after-school programming or summer camps! Recipes for soy plastic and soy lip balm…
Photoperiod: the floral initiator
unit 2 lessons

Photoperiod: the floral initiator

What drives plants to flower and reproduce? In this lesson students will plant and care for soybeans under one of three different photoperiod regimes: First month: 16 hours; Second month: 14 hours; third month: 12 hours (control) 16 hours for…
Plant systems and plant science
Career pathway

Plant systems and plant science

They help farmers and field specialists improve their crop yield and productivity. While it is difficult to say exactly how much demand will increase for plant systems specialists, job outlook for workers in this field is expected to grow faster…
Soybeans 101
e-learning

Soybeans 101

What do you know about soybeans? This course provides an overview of soybeans. Students learn about the parts of the soybean plant and the many uses of soybeans. Information is also provided about the process of growing and exporting soybeans.
The effect of soil on plant growth
student research project

The effect of soil on plant growth

Have you ever been curious if the type of soil used affects how plants grow? Five soybean seeds were planted 2.5 cm deep, in separate pots of each type of soil. After seeds were planted, all 10 plants were placed by a long window so that each…
Vegetative and reproductive plant growth
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Vegetative and reproductive plant growth‍

There are certain nutrients which promote mainly vegetative growth and others that promote reproductive growth. A basic understanding of these nutrient relationships can help homeowners, gardeners, and farmers maximize their harvest.
Waterhemp management
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Waterhemp management‍

Over the past few years waterhemp has spread across the state of Ohio reducing yields in soybeans. In order to best manage waterhemp populations, it is helpful to understand the plant’s life cycle and characteristics.
What is soil health?
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What is soil health?‍

Soil Health is a term that everyone seems to be confused about or have their own opinion. Soil health is about three things: soil organic matter (SOM), soil microbes and organisms, and plants. Good soil and soil health are dependent upon the…
What keeps a plant from growing?
article

What keeps a plant from growing?

Some plants grow, and others don’t. A variety of biochemical signals can disrupt normal function or inhibit the synthesis of essential molecules needed for plant growth. Karen Dillon at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Livonia, Michigan used the…
Who's your daddy? DNA investigations with gel electrophoresis
article

Who's your daddy? DNA investigations with gel electrophoresis

Samantha Williams of Bethel Tate High School came up with an attention-grabbing strategy for the use of gel electrophoresis in her science classroom. Students used dyes to solve the problem of whether any of these samples could be the father in a…
Whole body learning for DNA lesson
article

Whole body learning for DNA lesson

Want to move beyond the sedentary science lesson? Melissa Abrams at Hillsdale High School did just that with her grade 9/10 Biology classes. Using an activity from the Ag Biotech workshop, she got her students out of their seats and into a human DNA…