The Final Project for AGRN 350 involves both a paper and a presentation. The instructions listed below focus on the research component of the paper. Additional details may be found on the assignment instructions distributed by the course professor.
The paper consists of a six-page report – with references – on a species’ deficiency and toxicity symptoms for five different nutrients. Each person will be allowed to choose their species of interest, though no two students may have the same species. The first page should be a brief description of the species you have chosen, including:
- Genus and species.
- Use and economic importance.
- A brief description of its preferred environmental conditions.
- Known optimal nutrient needs for highest yield.
- Some illustrations of healthy specimens.
Following the title page are five pages dedicated to the five nutrient-related symptoms you have studied. The following pieces of information should be included on each page describing the nutrient deficiencies, with one nutrient provided per page:
- Nutrient / Element (e.g. “Boron”, not “boric acid”)
- The main form the nutrient is absorbed by the plant and any alternate forms that the plant can metabolize when the preferred compound is unavailable. (E.g. NO3-vs. NH4+.) Include here whether or not the roots are the sole source of this nutrient, or if it can be acquired by the atmosphere and/or foliar feeding. Describe what form of the compound those alternate sources utilize and any information on how they are metabolized. (E.g. by the chloroplast, in the cytoplasm, name of the pathway).Symptoms of the deficiency/toxicity. (Be specific and detailed, and refer to included photos.) Include in this section any biotic factors (diseases, herbivory, etc.) that might mimic these abnormalities.
- Source/cause of deficiency/toxicity. (E.g. acid soil, excess of similarly-sized cation, etc. “Not enough” is insufficient.)
- Remedy, including cultural practices or other amendments besides fertilizer. (That is, do not simply say “add nitrogen”. You must find environmental remediation beyond adding fertilizers in soils. E.g. foliar feeding with a range of nutrient concentrations would be acceptable.)
- At least one picture clearly illustrating the symptoms.
- A list of citations in the APA style. There should be at least three citations. (Do not make up your own style. If you do not know what an APA style looks like, Google it. Also, Wikipedia is not an acceptable citation. Use the resources in the library to find authoritative sources for your information.)
A template has been provided on Moodle in Microsoft Word format. Use it. If you prefer Google Docs, duplicate the layout in Google Docs based on the Word document.