And that gives scientists something against which they can compare their experimental data.Ĭrop (in agriculture) A type of plant grown intentionally grown and nurtured by farmers, such as corn, coffee or tomatoes. Its area would show how plants in this garden grow under normal conditions. For example, if scientists were testing different types of fertilizer in a garden, they would want one section of it to remain unfertilized, as the control. It shows that any new effect is likely due only to the part of the test that a researcher has altered. The control is essential to scientific experiments. “But clover plants with more leaves than that should be considered extra lucky!”Ĭontrol A part of an experiment where there is no change from normal conditions. “Four-leaf clovers are considered lucky in Japan,” says Minori. These included 13 with five leaves, two with six leaves, and one each with seven and eight leaves. In bins fertilized with both auxin and a double dose of phosphate, a total of 5.6 percent grew more than four leaves. Where auxin did make a difference was in encouraging plants to grow more than four leaves. ![]() That’s almost the same fraction as those receiving double phosphate but no auxin. About 3.3 percent of the plants that received both extra phosphate and auxin (304 in all) developed four leaves. That’s a slightly smaller share than in plants that got no auxin. Only 1.2 percent of the seeds grew into four-leafed clovers if they were fertilized with a normal amount of phosphate and received auxin. If terms of four-leaf clovers, adding auxin didn’t seem to help much, Minori found. So the extra phosphate doubled the share of shamrocks with more than three leaves. And of these, 14 (or about 3.2 percent) had four leaves. Two more had five leaves. In bins getting double the normal amount of phosphate but no auxin, 444 of the seeds sprouted into plants. Only four (about 1.6 percent) had four leaves. In her control group, 372 of the seeds matured into clover plants. The seeds in some bins with each dose of fertilizer were watered with a 0.7 percent solution of auxin throughout the 10-day experiment. The teen added double the normal amount of phosphate to other bins. Some of these made up her control group, meaning they were grown under normal conditions. She added that amount to some of her bins. She calculated that would translate to 58.3 grams (about 2 ounces) of phosphate per bin. But she would be growing her seeds in plastic bins that measured only about 58.5 centimeters (23 inches) long and 17.5 centimeters (7 inches wide). ![]() (The Society also publishes Science News for Students.) The 2019 event, which was sponsored by Intel, brought together more than 1,800 finalists from 80 countries.Īgricultural research has shown that farmers who grow clover should use about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of phosphate for each 40,000 square meters (10 acres) of farmland, says Minori. ![]() This competition was created by Society for Science & the Public. The teen showcased her success here, this week, at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, or ISEF. Minori wondered if she could somehow boost the odds of getting four-leafed clovers. ![]() But even in plants grown from these seeds, four-leafed ones remain rare. Some companies sell clover seeds that will grow into plants that are more likely to produce four leaves. Only one shamrock in every few thousand has more than three leaves, notes Minori Mori, a 12th grader at Meikei High School in Tsukuba, Japan. That name, which comes from Latin, means three leaves. The shamrock, maybe the most familiar type of clover, belongs to two species in a genus called Trifolium. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to grow your own whenever you wanted? A 17-year-old researcher from Japan has found a way to do just that. According to superstition, a four-leaf clover brings good luck.
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