Student research projects

Will a 2 x 2 application of starter fertilizer have an impact on soybean yields and the quality of water drainage from the field? The objective was to compare the yield and protein and oil content of Glycine max planted with a 2 x 2 application of 10-34-00 starter fertilizer and without starter fertilizer, and to compare the quality of water discharge from field drainage tile…

What will happen to soybeans if they dry out too early? 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…

Will there be a difference in the levels of peroxidase between the different strains of GMO or non-GMO soybean seeds? This study tested which type of soybean has the most peroxidase. The function of peroxidase found in soybeans is to initiate the growth process when the plant is growing or injured. The hypothesis was that there will be no difference in the levels…

Is there a nutritional difference when using a different flour base while making dog biscuits? The purpose of this project was to compare the amount of macromolecules that would be absorbed from four different flour based dog biscuits (soy, sorghum, wheat, and brown rice), and determine which base would benefit dogs the most. It was believed…

Which Brands of Organic Tofu are Genetically Modified? If five brands of organic tofu are tested, then at least one will be genetically modified, because of cross-pollination and the difficulty of maintaining truly organic crops. The DNA was tested using PCR to replicate the DNA and Gel Electrophoresis…

Which soil will have the greater impact on the growth of a soybean, potting soil or farming soil? 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…

Will grafted plants grow faster, produce more fruit, and be of better quality than original individual plants? Grafting is a common gardening technique that unites a scion (top of one plant) with a rootstock (the root of another plant). Often times people graft their plants in order to repair a broken or injured plant, to speed up the growth by giving it a…

Can paper mill sludge (PMS) be used as a fertilizer for plants and does it change the pH of the substrate it was used in? Approximately 10 billion tons of PMS are produced annually by the paper industry and pose a major disposal problem for paper mills. One possible solution to the industry’s problem is the use of PMS as a fertilizer through land-spreading. When mixed…

Will seeds in various solutions known to affect germination actually increase the percentage of seeds germinated? Seed germination begins with the rupturing of the seed coat and the emergence of the radicle, which will form the first roots of the seedling. Molybdenum is a catalyst for several enzymatic reactions in a cell, and potassium chloride is an essential…

Is the gl1-1 mutation the cause of the glabrous phenotype across all ecotypes? Various arabidopsis plants were found to not have trichomes (plant hairs) and the reason was unknown. As trichomes assist with plant pathogenic defense, what would result in the plant losing this defense? Through previous papers it was possible to…