Elizabeth Rowen

Elizabeth Rowen

Pennsylvania State Univeristy

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plant defensesoil microbiomefeeding assaystretch goalsmethods
Published on Jul 29, 2016

The caterpillars have spoken!

The last 2 weeks have been crazy! As you know (if you have read previous lab notes), I have been growing corn in the soils that I collected from different fields in PA and OH. These plants grew so ...

plant defense
soil microbiome
feeding assay
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Published on Jun 30, 2016

Growing baby corn!

The corn plants are growing! It has been interesting to see how the different soils are causing the plants to grow at different rates. Next week my caterpillars come in, and I will ...

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Published on Jun 02, 2016

Killing soil microbes

This week I've been working on how to kill microbes in my field collected soils so I can compare the effects of soil microbes on corn resistance. It has been a surprising challenge! I have been tes...

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Published on May 10, 2016

Collecting the first soils!

Two weeks ago, I collected my first soils from a farm in Ohio that has been no-till and cover-cropped for up to 45 years! I collected soils from a couple different fields so I could make comparison...

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Published on Mar 30, 2016

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

I deposited your check at Penn State this morning. It was a big moment. I can't wait to get started collecting soil and growing these plants! I'm so excited that all of you wonderful people are int...

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Published on Mar 17, 2016

Baby corn plants

I have started growing corn seedlings to test my feeding assays so that when we start our big project, we will have methods that work. Baby corn seedlings are so cute!!

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Published on Mar 17, 2016

Doing the microbes

Part of what is so exciting about this experiment is understanding what microbiology is going on below the surface of the soil, and how that connects to plants and insects that we see above ground....

stretch goals
methods
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Published on Feb 17, 2016

First step: testing seed varieties

I went out the the research farm today to pick up some old seeds from previous experiments in our lab. Everything at the farm is still covered in snow and ice! I'm going to test varieties to see ho...

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Reply to:Christina TranChristina Tran
So, yes, in some cases there were different crops, but the theory is that by not tilling and cover cropping you can build up the organic matter in your soil. Organic matter is basically just decomposing plant and animal material which are often sources of carbon for microbial activity.
May 10, 2016
Project: Probiotics for plants? Fighting insects by boosting corn immune sys...
Reply to:Christina TranChristina Tran
I'm going to try 21 days after they germinate. They should have 3-4 leaves by then!
Feb 18, 2016
Project: Probiotics for plants? Fighting insects by boosting corn immune sys...
Reply to:Ngoc PhanNgoc Phan
Hopefully, but we'll see. I have to start somewhere to make sure that the variety I choose to do this project is going to respond to the soil and feeding damage. I'm going to test a few things before starting the experiment on this site :)
Feb 18, 2016
Project: Probiotics for plants? Fighting insects by boosting corn immune sys...