Browse 88 real Plant Sciences projects entered in 2026, 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…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
Approximately 90% of plants have a mutualistic symbiosis with soil fungi, known as a mycorrhizal relationship. The plants and fungi exchange nutrients through the plant's roots. Mycorrhizae…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
Before plants can be used as a food source for interplanetary missions, research must be conducted to determine the effects of microgravity on the growth of plants. This experiment was condu…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
Leafy vegetables like Malabar spinach require optimal soil moisture (SM) to ensure steady physiological activity, improved nutrient uptake, and higher leaf yield. Excessive water application…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences Fourth Award
Weed infestations are considered as the most prominent biotic stressors threatening crop yields globally, contributing to 25-40% of annual crop losses. Currently, synthetic herbicides are mo…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences Fourth Award
The AnisGuard project was born from the urgent need to combat the contamination crisis caused by filamentous fungi in coffee beans from Brazil, a threat that compromises food safety through…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences Fourth Award
Up to 17% of cropland worldwide is contaminated with at least one toxic heavy metal, with lead and copper among the most prevalent contaminants. While some remediation methods exist today, t…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division) Second Award
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,…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences Second Award
Yaupon Holly and Yerba Mate are two economically important, caffeine-producing holly (i.e., Ilex) species in America. Yaupon Holly is native to North America and Yerba Mate is native to Sout…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
As our population increases our Global Food Production has to increase by 70% before 2050 according to the FAO. This goal is very difficult to reach with biotic stresses like pathogens causi…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
A significant amount of the world's water supply is used in agriculture, and many countries around the globe are experiencing severe water scarcity. Much of that water can be saved by utiliz…
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…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
OPIHI is a participatory science project where students survey the rocky intertidal, a unique coastal system in Hawai‘i connecting land and sea, to identify limu (algae) visually. Native lim…
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…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
The most common threat to agricultural settings is the infestation of insect pests, leading to the destruction of crops. Modern-day agricultural systems lack the intricate living systems tha…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
In 2024, corn losses due to weather and fire events exceeded $3.85 billion in the U.S. alone. Corn is critical for livestock feed, fuel, and trade, but yield variability causes supply instab…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to accelerate global warming, contributing to plastic pollution, microplastics contamination, and food insecurity. This research investigates integrated car…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences Fourth Award
Global agricultural sustainability is currently threatened by the inefficient use of chemical fertilizers, which often leach into ecosystems as pollutants rather than being absorbed by crops…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
The increasing dependence on conventional chemical pesticides for agricultural pest control has raised serious environmental and health concerns, in addition to the growing resistance develo…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences First Award
Citrus greening (Huanglongbing, HLB) is the most devastating citrus disease, causing a 75% production decline and billions in losses. Oxytetracycline (OTC), the only approved antibiotic, is…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
The ongoing outbreak of the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) has caused the destruction of 125 million acres of pine forests across North America, increasing wildfire risk and…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
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 (Senior Division) First Award
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…
AJAS · 2026
Plant Sciences (inferred)
Dicamba is a type of herbicidal auxin meant to mimic Indole-3-acetic-acid (IAA), a naturally occurring plant auxin hormone. Dicamba enters the cells of its target using the Polar Auxin Trans…
CSEF · 2026
Plant Biology (Junior Division) Honorable_mention Award
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…
AJAS · 2026
Plant Sciences (inferred)
Cucurbita pepo, known as the zucchini plant, is susceptible to fungal infections including downy and powdery mildew. Fungicides carry a large risk of toxicity and harm to crops and other exp…
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) Second Award
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…
ISEF · 2026
Plant Sciences
Global food demand requires sustainable strategies to enhance cereal productivity beyond conventional agricultural inputs. The apocarotenoids beta-Cyclocitral (beta-CC) and 3-OH-beta-Cycloci…