Browse 989 real Plant Sciences projects from CSEF, with abstracts, awards and links to the original entries.
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Every year, up to 40% of crops are lost due to plant diseases and pests. The farmers whom society relies on face daily challenges in identifying plant diseases. In fact, many use their own e…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Many people throw away their unfinished drinks on plants. This project looks at how water, coffee, lemonade, tea, and soda can affect the plant growth of cherry tomatoes, Thai Chili peppers,…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Many acorns fall to the ground unused and end up wasted. This project set out to see if a homemade fertilizer made from acorns could work as well as natural fertilizers like bonemeal. The hy…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
People that live in hot and dry regions like the Central Valley struggle to grow crops and plants. People can benefit from knowing what to use in their plants to retain soil moisture during…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
All living organisms, including plants, have evolved under the influence of the naturally occurring geomagnetic field (GMF). Numerous studies have described the biological effects of magneti…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Microplastic contamination in agricultural soils threatens crop productivity, reducing photosynthesis by 7-12% and potentially lowering yields by 4 -14% over the next 25 years. This study in…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Pesticides are used to repel unwanted organisms, but ultimately harm crops in the process. Some active ingredients used in pesticides lead to widespread environmental issues by accumulating…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
In space, studies show that microgravity disrupts plant gravitropism by affecting statolith sedimentation, leading to abnormal root and shoot growth. This limits sustainable food production…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Plants can communicate stress signals to neighboring plants, which may prime them for faster defense responses. Electrical signals are among the earliest physiological responses to wounding…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Soil salinity is a major environmental stress that limits plant growth by reducing water availability, causing osmotic stress, and interfering with early metabolic processes required for see…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
This investigation examined the effect of boiling time (0, 60, 180, 300, and 420 seconds) on the concentration of Fe²⁺ ions in Spinacia oleracea (spinach), measured using redox titration wit…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
The original question for my project was; which soil type (Rocky/gravelly. sandy, Clay, potting soil, or silty soil (fill dirt)) will allow a plant to best exhibit gravitropism? Through my r…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Many vegetables contain natural pigments like anthocyanins, that contribute to their color and nutritional value. This project investigated the effect of varying temperatures on the rate of…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
When a potato I planted in the courtyard planter grew into a tiny, greenish potato, I wondered if the potatoes' growth was impacted by the courtyard's dense soil. This led me to my investiga…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Objective/Problem Statement: The purpose of this project is to understand how stressing a tomato plant affects fruit production. Will stress-induced monocarpic senescence cause the plant to…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Modern agriculture faces increasing environmental stress, including drought, pests, and soil degradation. Crops are often treated as independent organisms, yet recent research suggests under…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Aphids are small insects that negatively impact varieties of plants and cause complications to a plant’s health such as stunting plant growth and causing discoloration. Aphids carry and tran…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Plants and humans have both evolved to have similar innate immune systems, with almost identical receptors for identifying pathogens and many similar response pathways. This proposes the que…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Venus Flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) are carnivorous plants native to nitrogen-poor wetlands. Scientists believe the nitrogen deficiency was the driving factor for evolution of pretty capture.…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Optimal Plants for Water Purification Juliette Cantu and Marilu Cisneros Pioneer School Delano Union School District Abstract Have you ever wondered if plants could do more than just clean t…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive environmental pollutants that can accumulate in living organisms. Their levels in agricultural soils are expected to increase exponentially, but the impacts…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Plants sense and respond to ambient temperature in part through phytochrome B (phyB), a photoreceptor that forms nuclear photobodies (PBs) whose number decreases as temperature increases. Wh…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world; however, heavy reliance on synthetic fertilizers has disrupted soil nutrient balance and electrical co…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
This study examines a precision nutrient and pH regulation method designed to improve plant growth and resource efficiency. As global food demand increases, crops are often grown in conditio…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
As one of the nation's leading agricultural regions, Fresno, California produces more than $9 billion in crops annually. Powdery mildew disease poses a significant threat, affecting high val…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
Soil salinization is a global issue affecting an estimated 20% of irrigated land and costing approximately $27 billion annually in lost productivity. Traditional monitoring relies on visual…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
One of the greatest challenges of human space exploration — whether to the Moon, Mars, or beyond — will be learning how to grow food far from Earth. This project investigated how different g…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
The increase in the population of the invasive, allelopathic plant species Brassica nigra could have a negative impact on native plant species by decreasing the amount of beneficial fungi, a…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Senior Division)
To meet the world’s growing demands for food, the agricultural industry is constantly striving to find ways of efficiently improving food production. Electroculture is a movement that claims…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division)
Coffee contains many different components, each with their own effect on seed growth. Most research centers around the specific components rather than coffee as a whole. This project looks a…