Understanding Soil Quality and the Health Benefits of Organic …ecotek-us.com/Presentation-OU_OrganicFarming-Internship.pdf · 2019-03-20 · 8 Experiment #1: Soil Quality and Its

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Understanding Soil Quality and the Health Benefits ofOrganic Food Crops

By Briana Young

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Purpose of Research and Expected Outcomes

• The purpose of my research is to learn about organic farming and how it plays a rolein the agricultural industry.

• In my research, I will produce three experiments related to food science and organicfarming

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Project Research Schedule

Conductedbackgroundresearch onorganic farming atEcotek Lab

ProjectKickoff

Visit to OUorganic farm

Data Analysisand ReportWriting

ResearchPresentation

Conductedexperiments inEcotek Lab

Jul 9-22Jul 8Jul 7 Jul 22-25 Jul 26-29 Jul 31

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Project Support Resources

Dr. HansenProgram Director

Billy PurriField Operations

Technician

Jared HannaOperations Manager

Drake MullettField Operations

Technician

Volunteers

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Research Site: OU Student Organic Farm

• Six (6) acre farm located at the corner ofButler and Adams Road in Rochester Hills,Michigan

• The OU student organic farm has over 42different food crops ranging from corn toromaine lettuce to zucchini

• Worked at organic farm for two weeks. Whileonsite I learned how to harvest and prepareromaine lettuce, cucumbers, and zucchini formarket.

• I also learned about crop managementpractices such as pruning tomatoes; removingweeds; and transplanting early stage romainelettuce crops

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Overview of Organic Farming

• Organic residues and nutrients produced on thefarm can be recycled back in the soil

• In 2009, 54 percent of total organic food sales werehandled through mainstream grocers, club storeand retailers

• Since the approval of the final National OrganicProgram rule published in 2000, sales of organicfoods and vegetables have grown $2.55 billion.

• In 2009, organic fruits and vegetables represented11.4 percent of all U.S fruit and vegetables sale

• Organic is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitaminsand minerals than products derived in industrialagriculture

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My Field and Lab Experiments

The three experiments that I did involving organic food crops included: Soil Quality and

Crop Growth, Water Retention Capacity, and Glucose Concentration.

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Experiment #1: Soil Quality and Its Impact on Crop Growth

AbstractSoil quality can impact the growth rate of crops. The more nutrient rich a soil is the betterthe crop growth and yield. Key nutrients found in soil include nitrogen, phosphorous andpotassium. In this experiment I compare the growth rate of a variety of food crops using soilfrom the OU organic farm.

IntroductionSoil quality is the ability of a soil to perform functions that are essential to people and theenvironment. Soils support plant growth, recycle dead material, regulate and filter waterflows. Soil stores, moderates the release of, and cycles nutrients and other elements.

Nutrient cycling can be assessed by measuring the following indicators: mineral nitrogen,potentially mineralizable nitrogen, soil nitrate, soil phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium,magnesium, boron, and zinc. Additionally, organic matter Indicators including C:N ratio,decomposition, microbial biomass carbon, particulate organic matter, soil enzymes, soilorganic matter

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HypothesisBased on my knowledge of agricultural science, I believe the treated plants will growfaster than the untreated plants

MaterialsGarden bean seeds Corn Hybrid Yellow Sweet Earl Sunglow seedsPumpkin seeds 4 plant traysUntreated soil Treated soil100 ml beaker Gallon Water

Experiment DesignThe control variables included plant tray, volume of water used to moisten soil, andseed type. The independent variable in the experiment is soil type (i.e. treated versusuntreated). The dependent variable was the total elapsed time for the seed togerminate and the overall growth of the plant after three weeks.


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Methods

Activity 1- Setup Growing Area

Using marker and sticky note, labeled tray #1 as “nutrient rich soil-corn”; label tray #2 as

“nutrient poor soil-corn”; label tray #3 as “treated soil-pumpkins” and label tray #4 as

“nutrient poor soil-pumpkin”.

Activity 2- Hydrate and Monitor Crops

Put an 30g of treated soil in tray #1 and #3 and 30g of nutrient poor soil in tray #2 and #4 .

Placed seeds three centimeters (3cm) into soil. Pour 50ml of water in each tray then, place

in the window seal. Observe the each plant over a five day period. Make note of the time

and date of seed germination for both soil types: untreated and treated.


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Data Analysis/ Results

72%

44%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percent

Germinated

Nutrient Rich Nutrient Poor

Soil Type

Percent of Crop Seeds Germinated After Five Days

ConclusionBased on the data and results of my experiment. The nutrient rich soil produced ahigher crop seed germination rate than the nutrient poor soil (dry)


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Experiment #2: Difference in Glucose Concentration

AbstractSugar is found in most vegetables. Organically grown vegetables are suppose to be healthy.The purpose of this experiment is determine if organically grown zucchini has more or lessglucose than zucchini that has been grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

IntroductionGlucose is a simple monosaccharide found in plants. It is one of the three dietarymonosaccharide that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. The

chemical structure of glucose is C6H12O6. It is a reducing sugar. If a person’s glucose levelsare too high they can develop diabetes. If their glucose levels are too low then they coulddevelop hypoglycemia.

Organically grown food crops are not exposed to pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Zucchini isa type of summer squash. There are a variety of different types of zucchini: Black Coral,Ambassador, Gold Rush, Cocozelle, and Ronde Niche. The normal growing rate for azucchini usually takes 35 to 55 days to grow from seed, depending on your climate and thesize of the vegetable. The best growing condition for zucchini is summer and the type of soil itgrows in is a well-drained soil. Well-drained soil retains its moisture and doesn’t dry out.

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HypothesisBased on my knowledge of the chemistry of sugars and organic farming practices, I believethe organic zucchini will have more glucose than the conventionally grown zucchini.

MaterialsBenedict Solution Hot plateDeionized Water KnifeBeaker/test tube tongs 600 ml BeakerTest tubes, rack and holders Glucose Test StripsOrganically grown zucchini conventionally grown zucchini

Experiment DesignThe control variables included same lab equipment setup, glucose test strip and test reagent-benedict solution. The independent variable was the difference in source of zucchinivegetable- one from OU organic farm, one from the grocery store that had been exposed topesticides and chemical fertilizers. The dependent variable was the amount of glucoseconcentration in each zucchini sample that was detected using the glucose test strip.

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Methods

Activity 1: Detect the presence of glucose in each sample using benedict solution.This included making a slurry solution using each sample and placing them in separate testtube (Tube1 and Tube2). Put three drops of benedict solution in each test tubes thenplaced the test tubes in a hot water bath (80 Celsius) for 10 minutes. Observed colorchange of each sample. Both samples showed a yellowish reaction.

Activity 2: Measure difference in glucose concentration using glucose test stripsPrepared zucchini slurry filtrate samples into separate test tubes. Placed glucose stripin filtrate for one minute and compared color on strip to color chart. Documentedconcentration levels in parts per million (ppm)

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Data/Analysis

Glucose Concentration Anaylsis

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Organic Inorganic

Zucchini Type

Mean

Glu

co

se

Co

ncen

trati

on

(mg

/dL

)

ConclusionMy hypothesis was correct the organic zucchini had more glucose than the conventionallygrown zucchini. First, I detect the glucose by using benedict solution and seeing the colorchange then I use a glucose detection strip to see how much glucose was in organiczucchini and conventionally grown zucchini. I learned that if you want to measure glucose,use glucose strip but if you want to detect the presence of glucose you use benedict solution.

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Experiment #3: Water Composition As A Percentage of Total Mass

AbstractThe purpose of this experiment is determine the difference in the amount of water of anorganically grown zucchini and a zucchini that has been grown using chemical fertilizersand pesticides.

IntroductionZucchini is a squash plant. It contains large quantities of water in proportion to itsweight. When eaten, the water is absorbed into the body. The survival of the plantdepends on balancing water uptake and water loss. Absorption is a surface areaphenomenon - the more surface area there is, the more absorption there will be. Aswater is drawn into the root, dissolved minerals are also brought into the root Waterflows through the apoplast and the symplast on its way to the xylem.

In an animal cell, water flows from hypotonic to hypertonic solutions, but in a plant cell,there is the added presence of the pressure created by the cell wall The combination ofsolute concentration differences and physical pressure are incorporated into waterpotential

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HypothesisBased on my knowledge of food chemistry, I believe the organic zucchini will have morewater than the conventionally grown zucchini.

MaterialsDehydration MachineBlender MachineElectric ScaleKnifeOrganically grown zucchiniConventionally grown zucchini

Experimental DesignThe control variables included same lab equipment setup. The independent variable wasthe difference in source of zucchini vegetable- one from OU organic farm, one from thegrocery store that had been exposed to pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Thedependent variable was the amount of water loss after dehydration the zucchini.

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Methods

Activity 1: Determine the mass of the zucchini using the electric scaleThis included weighing three pieces of organic and conventionally grown zucchini usingthe electric scale and placing them in the dehydration machine.

Activity 2: Determine how much water is loss in the organic and conventionallygrown zucchini.This included leaving the zucchini in for 6 hours and then weighed the organic andconventionally grown zucchini again and determine difference in weight (water loss).Afterwards, calculated the ratio of water loss to the total mass weight (g) of the samplebefore dehydration.

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Data/Analysis

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

Average Mass of

Sample (g)

Organic Inorganic

Zucchini Crop Type

Water Content Analysis

Mass Before Drying

Mass After Drying

76%

78%

80%

82%

84%

86%

Percentage of

Water in Sample

Organic Inorganic

Zucchini Crop Type

Ratio of Water to Total Mass Analysis

Ratio of Water toTotal Mass ofSample

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ConclusionBased on the data and results of the experiment my hypothesis was wrong theorganic zucchini had less water than the more than the conventionally grownzucchini.

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Cited Sources

• Soil Quality for Environmental Healthhttp://soilquality.org/functions/nutrient_cycling.html

• University of Kentucky, Water Content of Fruits and Vegetableshttp://www2.ca.uky.edu/enri/pubs/enri129.pdf

• University of Illinois-Chicago, Transport in Plantshttp://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios100/lecturesf04am/lect19.htm

• American Diabetes Association- Living with Diabeteshttp://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hyperglycemia.html

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Understanding Soil Quality and the Health Benefits ofOrganic Food Crops

By Briana Young

Documents

Understanding Soil Quality and the Health Benefits of Organic …ecotek-us.com/Presentation-OU_OrganicFarming-Internship.pdf · 2019-03-20 · 8 Experiment #1: Soil Quality and Its