ORIGINS OF PLANTS IAFNR Plant and Soil Sciences Module

WHERE DID OUR FOOD COME FROM? Old World  Pre 1492  Asia  Asia minor  Europe New World  Post 1492  Central Mexico  Chile  United States Botanists agree that the places below are where most of our food was first found. As explorations increased more food items were discovered around the world!

VEGETABLES Let’s use your bell-ringer answers to make a list of all the vegetables we know!

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FRUITS Let’s make a list of all the fruits you know of!

GRAINS AND OIL CROPS  Sunflower  Corn  Peanut  Cotton  Tobacco  Rye  Oats  Barley  Wheat  Clover  Alfalfa  Flax  Soybean  Rice  Sugarcane Image retrieved from: m/chris-barnes/repurposing- ideas-5-new-uses-vegetable- oil_b_ html Image retrieved from:

THE BEGINNING OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH American Farmers had a keen interest in learning more about crops and food. Especially in dealing with surplus and pests. This interest led to the establishment of the United States Department of Agriculture in 1862 where the beginning of American agricultural research began.

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Hatch Act  1887  Set up experimental research stations at each of the Land- Grant Colleges  Indiana Land-Grant College  Purdue University  Research goals to improve productivity with better agricultural practices and plant varieties Agricultural Adjustment Act  1938  Created four regional research laboratories  Each laboratories specialized in research of the crops of their area  Could reach problem areas and answer questions much quicker

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH World War II  Agriculture Research Stations responded to crisis  Finding substitutions for war needs  Dehydrated Foods  Synthetic rubber  Mass-Production of penicillin (1943) Postwar Research  ’s  Development of frozen–food techonolgies  1960’s  Instant potatos  Research helped make products better for the consumer

THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH Farm Bill  2007  Funding for bioenergy and bio based products research.  Renewable energy systems and efficiency projects  Support of fruit and vegetable producers  Work in plant breeding and genetics Biotechnology  Using the tools of genetic engineering  Incorporation and expression of genes from other species into plants  Enhanced nutritional benefits  Golden Rice  Insect Resistant plants  Bt Toxin gene

Image retrieved from: consumption-statistics-by-country-per-family-weekly/ What kinds of food do you eat and your family eat? The typical American family eats similar amounts and kinds of food to the Revis family. Why is Agriculture and Food Science Research important?

REFERENCES Parker, R. (2010). Plant and Soil Science: Fundamentals and Applications. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar. Photos: 1) Retrieved from: