446 Horticulture Today
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
STEM and Academic Activities
1. Science. Use a common plant, such as an African violet. Propagate this plant via tissue
culture. Ask your instructor for support and guidance in this endeavor.
2. Science. If one tissue can create 20 plantlets at the end of an eight-week cycle and each
of those plantlets is then placed in a test tube and the cycle is repeated continuously for a
year, how many plantlets could be potentially micropropagated?
3. Engineering. Engineer a do-it-yourself or at-home tissue culture facility that simulates a
laminar fl ow hood.
4. Language Arts. Research information about a current tissue culture endeavor involving
plants. Write an editorial article in response to this current biotechnology practice or
research. What are the benefi ts and risks of this practice? State your opinions about the
practice.
5. Language Arts. Contact a local nursery. Interview an employee and determine if the
company uses micropropagated plants. Whether the company does or does not practice
micropropagation, ask why and how it impacts the business.
Communicating about Horticulture
1. Reading and Speaking. Make a time line of biotechnological advancements in the last
20–30 years. Focus on those relating the most to agriculture. Research advancements
and the scientists who brought about these changes. Create a 10- to 15-point time line
showing signifi cant milestones that have led to new discoveries and theories. Describe
your fi ndings to the class.
2. Listening and Speaking. In a group, create a presentation sharing specifi c examples
of how agriculture interacts with one of the following fi elds of science: natural, formal,
or social. Present two to three examples of how this fi eld of science is used in a specifi c
sector of agriculture. Be prepared to share your examples with the class.