What are Wisconsin fast plants?
Wisconsin Fast Plants were developed as research tool at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and have been used by K-16 teachers around the world for nearly 30 years as an educational model-organism.
What is the life cycle of a fast plant?
The life cycle for Fast Plants is extremely short; under ideal growing conditions of continuous light, water and nutrition, plants will produce harvestable seeds approximately 40 days after planting. The content for your Tab goes here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
How do I grow my own fast plants?
Growing Fast Plants ® is Easy! Follow the steps below to grow your own. The materials and resources needed to start growing your very own Fast Plants. Give your Fast Plants the care they need as you set your Fast Plants up for growing. Be a bee! Create your own bee sticks so your plants can reproduce and develop seed.
What are Wisconsin Fast Plants used for?
Wisconsin Fast Plants® are model organisms perfect for allowing students to experience a broad range of plant-related concepts. From plant growth and development to plant growth requirements to genetic inheritance and artificial selection, a small package of the plants packs a powerful learning punch.
What are fast plants used for?
Many scientists are using Wisconsin Fast Plants as model plants for research in genetics, molecular biology, plant breeding, cell biology, and physiology.
What kind of plants are Wisconsin Fast Plants?
Wisconsin Fast Plants are non-GMO, developed through traditional plant breeding for research and teaching. Their closest vegetable relative is a turnip or Chinese cabbage. Their scientific name is Rapid Cycling Brassica rapa. Also Available as Seed Disks!
Why do some Wisconsin Fast Plants have a yellow-green leaf?
Yellow-Green Leaf is a true-breeding Fast Plants stock that is homozygous recessive for a gene that causes cotyledons, leaves, stems, and developing pods to have a light yellow-green color as compared to the green of Standard Fast Plants.
How long do Wisconsin Fast Plants live?
Wisconsin Fast Plants are a patented variety of rapid-cycling Brassica rapa developed by Dr. Paul Williams at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a research model for studies in plant disease. Fast Plants live their whole lives in 35 to 45 days; perfect timing for science classes as well as plant geneticists.
Where do Wisconsin Fast Plants come from?
Wisconsin Fast Plants® are a model organism developed through over 30 years of selective plant breeding conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The entire process—from seed to flowering plant—takes only 14 days under typical classroom conditions.
How long does it take Wisconsin fast plants to grow?
The life cycle for Fast Plants is extremely short; under ideal growing conditions of continuous light, water and nutrition, plants will produce harvestable seeds approximately 40 days after planting.
What kind of plants are fast plants?
What are Fast Plants? Fast Plants are a rapid-cycling form of the species Brassica rapa, a member of the mustard or cabbage family Cruciferae. Fast Plants and other members of this family are distinguished by characteristic flowers with four petals in the form of a cross or crucifix.
What do Wisconsin Fast Plants look like?
A defining characteristic of fast plants and other members of the Cruciferae family is the flower: four petals resembling a cross or crucifix. Fast plants reach a height of about 15 cm, flower after about 14 days and have a standard seed to seed growth cycle of about 35 to 40 days, with no seed dormancy period.
What color are Wisconsin Fast Plants?
The genotype of the wild type is ANL/ANL. The yellow-green gene (ygr) in Wisconsin Fast Plants™ determines whether the leaves will be yellow-green or green in color. In the homozygous, recessive form (ygr/ygr), the leaves appear a pale, yellow-green color (which is the “yellow-green leaf” phenotype).
What is the purpose of the germination cup of water?
Water allows the seeds to absorb nutrients from soil fungi, but it also softens the seed coating. Because these seeds have limited viability, the inside embryo will die without fast connection between the soil fungi and seed, a process made possible by water.
What plants are best for science projects?
The key for a good science fair plant is that it grows quickly, allowing experimentation to be carried out over the shortest period of time possible.Cress. ... Herbs. ... Mushrooms. ... Beans. ... Vegetables. ... Grass. ... Bulbs.
What are fast plants biology?
Fast Plants are a rapid-cycling form of the species Brassica rapa, a member of the mustard or cabbage family Cruciferae. Fast Plants and other members of this family are distinguished by characteristic flowers with four petals in the form of a cross or crucifix.
How do fast plants grow and reproduce?
The Life Cycle of Fast Plants The life cycle for Fast Plants is extremely short; under ideal growing conditions of continuous light, water and nutrition, plants will produce harvestable seeds approximately 40 days after planting. A day or two after planting and watering, the tiny seed germinates.
How often should you water fast plants?
As the plants grow, they will use more of the water or nutrient solution each day. By Day 10 in the life cycle the plants may use a full reservoir every 2–3 days. Thin to 1–2 plants per square inch by cutting off extra plants with scissors just above the planting mix level.
How fast do fast plants grow?
Characteristics of Fast Plants Fast plants reach a height of about 15 cm, flower after about 14 days and have a standard seed to seed growth cycle of about 35 to 40 days, with no seed dormancy period. Fast plants are very easy to grow in a standard potting mix under uninterrupted fluorescent lighting.
How to grow your own fast plants?
Follow the steps below to grow your own. 1. Prepare. The materials and resources needed to start growing your very own Fast Plants. Learn More. 2. Plant & Tend. Give your Fast Plants the care they need as you set your Fast Plants up for growing. Learn More.
How long does it take for a plant to produce seeds?
The life cycle for Fast Plants is extremely short; under ideal growing conditions of continuous light, water and nutrition, plants will produce harvestable seeds approximately 40 days after planting. A day or two after planting and watering, the tiny seed germinates.
What is the point where the roots of a plant grow?
Above ground, the true leaves, stems grow and develop from a point at the very top of the plant, called the shoot meristem (growth tip).
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nutrients that originate mainly by weathering of minerals in the soil, including the macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur, and the micronutrients iron, manganese, boron, molybdenum, zinc, chlorine and cobalt. Of these, nitrogen comes partly from the atmosphere but is still regarded as a mineral nutrient.
Video
Observe the response of two stocks of Wisconsin Fast Plants to the application of herbicide. The plants on the left are of the standard stock, while plants on the right are an herbicide resistant stock.
Celebration of the harvest time and the cornucopia
For the last hour of the last class, the students made a cornucopia. We studied the Greek mythological origin of the cornucopia, Latin for horn of plenty, that is used traditionally for harvest celebrations like Thanksgiving. We discussed the development of our culture from hunter-gathers to farmer to industrialized agriculture.
Harvest time: counting the seeds to determine crop yield
Here a student is counting her seed yield, 220 seeds. Each student started out with eight plants, and thus 220 divided by 8 is a 27.5 times increase. The student observed that plant multiply it population by 27.5 in one generation. We noticed that even on this day 42, some of the seeds were still green.
Week 6 of the plant life cycle, end of class course, and time to harvest the seeds
It is week 6 in the fast plant life cycle and time to harvest the seeds. The plant had been trimmed to promote drying. The seed is mature if it contains a brown coating. The seeds were harvested by rolling the seed pods between the finger tips. The eight plants produced approximately 220 seeds or a 30 fold yield.
Raw peanut used to study part of a plant embryo
Raw peanuts were used for dissection and the identification of the plant embryo part. It is easy to see the epicotyl embryo leaves.
Week 5 in the fast plant life cycle and the embryogenesis is reaching maturity
It is week 5 in the life cycle of the fast plant and the embryogenesis is reaching maturity as indicated by the browning of the seed pods. Water has been removed from the planter and we expect to harvest the seeds from the dry seed pods during the next and last class. Note the microscopes used to study the dissected embryos.
Pollinated versus unpollinated seed pods. How to tell the difference
Week 5: How can you tell if the flower was pollinated or not? The pollinated seed pods (pictures on the left) are significantly longer and bigger than the unpollinated seed pods (pictures on the right). The pictures on the bottom row are opened seed pods. Inside the pollinated seed pod on the lower left is the maturing embryos.
USB digital microscope for examining the Fast Plant
This is one of the best student USB microscope systems for about $100, in my opinion and I tried a half dozen. It consists of a Celestron 5 MP USB microscope ($80) and an Aven 26700-311 Digital Microscope Universal Stand ($42). The microscope comes with it own base, but the Aven was preferred because it has X-Y adjustability and backlighting.
What is a stemless plant?
Basically a stemless plant which features two downy, heart-shaped to kidney-shaped, handsomely veined, dark green, basal leaves. Comments: Its basic use is as a ginger substitute in cooking, a flavoring agent, and for making some candy. There are numerous medicinal claims. Nodding Pink Onion.
Where does leadplant grow?
Description: Leadplant (Amorpha canescens) is a native that typically occurs in open woodlands, glades and prairies. This pea/bean family member is a somewhat ungainly, deciduous shrub growing 1-3 feet tall and featuring slender, dense, 4-8 inches spike-like clusters of tiny, bluish-purple flowers with gold anthers which bloom in May-June.
How tall does wild strawberry grow?
Description: Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) is a ground-hugging herbaceous perennial that typically grows to 4-7 inches tall but spreads indefinitely by runners (stolons) which root to form new plants as they sprawl along the ground, often forming large colonies over time. It is native to woodland openings, meadows, prairies, limestone glades and cleared areas including roadsides. bluish-purple flowers with gold anthers which bloom in May-June.
Can you eat wild onions raw?
Comments: All parts of this native food are edible raw or cooked, and can be eaten and prepared just like a traditional bunching/green onion. The flavor of this wild onion tends to be stronger than supermarket varieties; the taste mellows and sweetens as it's cooked.
Can native species be used as food?
Many native species have been used in some way as food in the past. This list has been limited to to the more practical examples of foods you might be able to harvest in reasonable numbers on a residential property. These include species which are prolifc enough to withstand some regular harvesting or those for whom only portions ...
Can you collect native plants in the wild?
This list is only intended to guide you in some things you might plant around your home, never collect native plants in the wild. Most native plants are threatened by habitat loss and degradation so they cannot withstand the additional pressure of harvesting. Furthermore, this is illegal on any public property.
Can you eat milkweed after boiling?
It is best to say you will have to experiment. We want to get rid of the bitterness because it is toxic. Said another way, don’t eat any milkweed that is bitter after cooking. Taste it and wait 30 seconds or so.
