Research Papers
315Assignment2 (3).pdfKey Solutions to Food Security: An Overview of Vertical Farms as a Sustainable Solution to Increasing Demand for Food
Essay on the emerging technology of vertical farms, and its potential to sustainably meet projected food demands on a global scale. Research goes into the reasons why an increasing food demand is taking place, what vertical farms are, and how they are able to meet food security among other positives. It is not considered the ultimate solution however, as the negatives of vertical farms are also delved into, overall weighing the impact of the technology and determining what areas need to be improved to more readily consider widespread adoption of vertical farms.
HORT315 Assignment4-Redone.pdfPotential of Vertical Farms Within the Scope of Water Sustainability and Security
An evaluation on the issue of water scarcity that is already affecting some parts of the globe, and the growing issue of water security as demands of freshwater increase while supplies diminish at a rate far below sustainable values. With this issue focused primarily on the agricultural water wastage area, vertical farms are examined in order to determine their overall effectiveness in water usage compared to conventional farming. Vertical farms are also examined as a possible incorporation into urban areas to provide sustainable, drinkable water, but the effects of water quality are also looked into with potential solutions. The essay overall showcases the absolute potential for vertical farms and how much they can bring to the table with water sustainability.
SCSC 410 Essay 1.pdfExamination of the Emerging Technology of Gene-Editing and its Potential for Impact in International Agricultural Systems
Essay written for International Agricultural Systems discussing an emerging technology that has potential for large impact in the agriculture systems of developing countries. Describes the background of biotechnology and the general process of gene-editing, going into further detail on the benefits for plant breeding and production within developing countries as well as potential drawbacks and challenges for transferring this technology. From this essay, I was able to learn about a future technology that is a potential solution for the growing issue of food security as the world population increases and understand the issues preventing it from its full potential, and have a global perspective of the technology and issue at hand.
Conservation of Natural and Current Genetic Material For Future Plant Breeding.pdfConservation of Natural and Current Genetic Material For Future Plant Breeding
A scientific essay discussing the current and constant evolutional battle between improving pest and disease resistant strains of crops and the increasingly resistant organisms that are vectors of transmission for these diseases, and how the future of plant breeding has the potential to stagnate with decreasing amounts of unique genetic material that can be introduced to overcome genetic vulnerability. The concept of genetic diversity is explored and why maintaining it in agriculture provides a number of advantages, as well as the solution of genebanks to preserve more underrepresented populations of wild relatives for this reason. From this paper, I was able to understand a key issue that would become prevalent in the agricultural world, why it is an issue, and how it can be solved.
The Future Projection of Water Scarcity in India, and the Potential of a Tensiometer to Adapt.pdfThe Future Projection of Water Scarcity in India, and the Potential of a Tensiometer to Adapt
A research article on the water-stressed region of India and factors as to why it is designated as so, with issues worsening in the future to potentially become classified as a water-scarce region. The paper then discusses that in order to combat against these water issues, a solution must be affordable, scalable, and perform enough to significantly reduce water usage. The Punjab Agricultural University provides one such solution in the form of a tensiometer, where the paper then describes the advantages their design brings and how effective it has been in field trials. This paper has given me a more global perspective on the issues surrounding agricultural sustainability especially in water, and that solutions to these global issues must be highly effective yet realistic.
HORT315 Assignment 5.pdfVertical Farming and How Labor Requirements May Hinder Its Global Adoption
While noting that many issues for vertical farms exists, this essay showcases one of the key issues into why their potential is overall limited from socio-economic factors. Background surrounding a complex supply and demand of food crops is explained in order to give a full idea for those unfamiliar with these concepts. Existing issues are also examined that all food production technologies must solve, which vertical farms hopes to do, but not without first sorting out the labor requirements associated with the technology. Data is referenced to in order to determine the amount of manpower required to manually run a vertical farm, which is highly unprofitable. This means that automatic systems must be utilized to offset the labor costs, but this instead creates an incredibly high upfront cost that requires skilled and trained personnel to run. As vertical farms are most productive in countries with more limited food productivity, this may not be feasible on a global scale.
ENTO Case Study.pdfGeneral Scientific and Personal Examination of the species Aphis glycines
Scientific paper written for General Entomology with guidelines to examine the biology, life-cycle, interactions, and significance of an insect of one's choice. Through this paper I was able to research an overview of a pest and understand why they have a significant impact, and what can do further done to resist aphids through understanding of new technology and aphid biology. By doing this research, I have a more scientific understanding on aphids with a through understanding of their biology, feeding habits, reproduction rate and cycle and how it relates to resistant cultivars, disease transmission, and more topics. From research, I came to an understanding of how aphids can overcome resistant cultivars through their quick reproduction, and thus why cultivars must be continuously improved for resistance to aphids.
Inquiry Report (1).pdfStudy of Grizzly Bear Hunting Habits in Streams and if Bears Prefer to Hunt in Rapid or Calm Water
An inquiry report written for Fundamentals of Ecology with guidelines to create a logical hypothesis based on observations of photos and design an investigation to test this hypothesis, analyzing the data and creating results and conclusions from them, as well as peer review the reports of others. I was able to infer patterns from looking at photos of bears and develop a hypothesis to test, formulate a way to test that hypothesis, and then collect the samples without bias. Through this project I have a more thorough understanding of the work of ecologists, and evaluate the quality of other's scientific reports.
Mint Fact Sheet.docxOverview of Growing Mint as a Crop
An overview written for Vegetable Crop Production for a horticultural crop of our choice with requirements of researching soil and temperature requirements, varieties, planting procedures and dates, irrigation and fertilization, pests and diseases with control methods, harvesting and handling. and uses for the crop. By completing this overview, I am able to have a very detailed understanding on the optimal production for the Mentha genus, including areas such as reproduction, propagation, light requirements, and more. Through this, I have experience in researching key areas for production of specific crops, and would be able to go into more detail on Mentha with this knowledge, or perform similar steps for a different crop.