The Harvest Begins!

This week I had the opportunity to work with a graduate student collecting data for his project. Phenotypic data for energy lines needs to be collected in large amounts, which means the graduate students will need all the workforce they can get.  As with everything in agriculture it seems, there are time restraints on pretty much everything that has to be done for the rest of this season, and from now till the end of harvest, we will be working our tails off to make sure it all gets done.



Stripping the plants of their leaves

For the past few days now, I’ve been working with a graduate who is doing research on lodging resistance. Each day, we take plants from around 80 of his plots and collect the data that he needs for his research. We’ve been starting at 6:00 am, just as the sun is beginning to rise here in College Station. For each of the eighty plots that were being harvested, 3 plants were selected and chopped down at the base (our grad student chose which plants he wanted). The plants were then tagged with the plot number, zip-tied together, loaded on the truck, and taken back to the Borlaug Center for processing.





Taking measurements

The procedure for processing each plant was simple: the leaves were removed from the stem so that the stalk was all that remained. The length of the stalk was then measured and the maturity of the panicle assessed. Next, the third, fourth, and fifth internodes were measured –the length and diameter –and the rest of the plant, with the exception of those select pieces, was removed. The internodes were then cut apart and weighed individually and put onto a mechanical device that would test the force required to bend and break them. Finally, the pieces were placed in a bag, weighed again, and put into a dryer to be grinded down later on.



Internodes

There was quite a few of us, so we were able to set up an assembly line of sorts. By the end, we were working like a well-oiled machine. My job everyday has been to record the data as it was being collected, partly because I can write fast and mainly because I can write legibly. After so many hours of having a steady flow of numbers fired off for me to record, I may go to sleep counting internodes instead of sheep!

 

Working where I do, I come in contact with Masters and PhD students on a daily basis. It’s an awesome opportunity for me because I’m able to have a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be a graduate student here at A&M, and the grad students in the sorghum breeding program are some of the best around. They’re all extremely intelligent and willing to answer any questions I have about their projects or sorghum in general. I’ve been so fortunate to be able to work alongside these guys and I learn a ton from them every day!