Plant Science

Grow a plot of corn, have your counselor inspect it, and record the seed variety or experimental code number

Describe today's commercial corn-farming methods and how corn adds to our food and fuel supply

Describe one insect that harms corn, how it affects the crop, and how it's controlled

Grow a plot of cotton and have your counselor inspect it

Describe today's commercial cotton-farming methods, how cotton fiber and seed are used, and the crop's economic value

Describe one insect that harms cotton, how it affects the crop, and how it's controlled

Collect, count, and label display samples of broadleaf weeds, legumes, annual grasses, and perennial grasses, and tell how each grass and legume is used. Log where you found each sample and share the log with your counselor

Explain how legumes can enrich soil and how they can sometimes deplete it, and how livestock can enrich or deplete soil

Name five plants that are poisonous to livestock, and tell the different ways forage crops are used to feed livestock

Give production figures for small grain crops for the latest year available in the U.S. Statistical Report or the Agricultural Statistics Handbook

Help harvest a grain crop. Tell how to cut harvesting losses and describe modern methods for growing one small grain crop

Visit a flour mill, grain elevator, cereal plant, or feed or seed company and talk with the operator. Take notes, describe how they process grain, and share what you saw with your patrol, troop, or class

Grow a plot of soybeans and have your counselor inspect it

Describe modern large-scale commercial soybean growing and how soybeans add to our food supply

Explain why a hard frost can hurt soybeans right after they come up

From seed or cuttings, grow bedding plants that suit your region in flats or pots, using a manufactured soil mix. Tell what the mix contains and why you picked it

Move the plants into a landscape bed and care for it through the end of the growing season. Record what you did and saw, materials used, and costs

Demonstrate watering, weeding, mulching, fertilizing, and deadheading, and explain how each one helps your plants

Describe some differences between gardening with annuals and with perennials

Plant five berry plants, grapevines, or fruit or nut trees that suit your area, and fully care for them through one season

Properly prune a tree, vine, or shrub, and explain why pruning is needed

Demonstrate one kind of graft and tell why it's useful

Describe how a fruit, nut, or berry crop gets processed before people use it

Plant at least five trees or shrubs in a landscape and fully care for them for one growing season

Properly prune a tree or shrub, and explain why pruning is needed

List 10 more trees (beyond those from requirement 6) with common and scientific names, and explain to your counselor how each one is used in landscaping

For each type of tree or shrub, describe its size, texture, color, flowers, leaves, fruit, hardiness, growing needs, and any special features that make it attractive or interesting

Tell five ways trees make our environment better

Design and plant a garden or landscape of at least 10 by 10 feet

Plant 10 or more kinds of plants in your garden, explain why you picked those vegetable and flower varieties, and care for the garden for one season

Demonstrate pruning, pest management, fertilizing, composting, mulching, weeding, watering, staking, and soil preparation, and tell why each is used

Name four kinds of things you could add to make your home landscape or a park better for birds and wildlife. List 10 native plants in your area that help birds and wildlife, by common and scientific name

Identify the trees in your neighborhood, a park, part of your town, or a Scout camp

Document your inventory by collecting, pressing, and labeling leaves, flowers, or fruits

List the tree types by scientific and common name. Record how many trees you saw and their size (diameter 4½ feet above ground), and find the largest of each species in your area

Show two or more people how to identify at least five kinds of trees or shrubs with a leaf or twig key

Visit two sites, at least one different from your Field Botany requirement 1 site

Use transects at least 500 feet long to compare the two different types of plant communities

At each site, record the soil and other influencing factors, then (a) identify every tree within 10 feet of your transect line and (b) measure each one's diameter 4½ feet above the ground, mapping and listing each tree. Then graph or chart your results

Visit two sites, at least one different from your Field Botany requirement 1 site

Lay out nested plots to take inventory of two different types of plant communities

At each site, record soil and other influencing factors, then: (a) identify, measure, and map every tree in a plot 100 by 100 feet (diameter at 4½ ft for trees over 3 in.); (b) identify and count every tree and shrub in a 10-by-10-foot plot inside it; (c) identify and count all plants in a 4-by-4-foot plot inside that, estimating cover for ones you can't tell apart. Graph or chart the results

Write ahead to set up a visit to an herbarium at a botanical garden, park, or university, OR visit an herbarium website with your parent's or guardian's permission

Tell how the specimens are organized and how researchers use them. If you can, look at voucher specimens of a plant that's rare in your state

Describe how a voucher specimen gets mounted and readied for long-term storage, and how to handle specimens so they don't get damaged

Tell about the tools and references botanists use in an herbarium

Write ahead to set up a visit to a private conservation group or government agency that works to protect rare plants and natural areas

Tell about the organization's work to study and protect rare plants and natural areas

If you can, visit a nature preserve the organization manages, and tell about land management practices there, such as controlled burns or efforts to remove non-native invasive plants or other dangers to native plants