Rachel Milnes wins Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge Award at Northeast Arkansas Science & Engineering Fair

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1 By Lynda Wilson The Cooperative Extension Service UofA Division of Agriculture Media Contact: Mary Hightower Date: May 19, 2014 Rachel Milnes wins Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge Award at Northeast Arkansas Science & Engineering Fair Rachel Milnes, 15, a 9 th grader at Nettleton High School won the regional round of the Soybean Science Challenge at the 2014 Northeast Arkansas Science & Engineering Fair in Jonesboro in March. Her project was titled Soybeans Starve from Soil Salinity. A $300 cash award was presented to Milnes. The award was provided by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. Milnes said she was much honored to be the first NEARSEF award winner of this partnership between the UofA Cooperative Extension Center and the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. I take pride in this accomplishment, but I am also humbled that my project was chosen as the best soybean project of our regional science fair. Milnes went on to say I had no clue how far my project would take me and how successful it would be. I am very thankful to have won this award. It gave me a confidence boost, telling me that I can do anything I set out to do. Rachel s parents, Danny and Julie Milnes said, Rachel has always been an extraordinary student in science, math, reading and writing. Her natural gift of intelligence, together with her strong desire to be very detailed and accurate, coupled with a sensational work ethic, enabled Rachel to make a complex science fair project look easy. Rachel worked hours on her project, including actual time in the greenhouse, analyzing data and studying the results to be ready for her interviews at the science fair. The allure of science for Rachel is that it demands accuracy, complete data and thorough analysis in order to be excellent. She wants to be the best that she can be, said Danny Milnes.

2 The Soybean Science Challenge course gave Rachel Milnes an opportunity to learn much more about soybeans. I did not realize how difficult it must be for farmers to produce great harvests and quantities of soybeans each year. I learned a lot about how field conditions and the weather really affect when farmers need to plant their soybeans and how well the crops will turn out. Studying the soil itself was very beneficial and informational to Milnes. Milnes science project was about soil salinity and its negative effects on the soybeans, so learning more about the soil was integral to her research. Topics related to soil were the heart and soul of her project. Milnes said, Having good, nutrient rich soil helps, not harms, the soybeans. Her favorite part of the course was learning how many different ways that soybeans were used. I honestly did not know that there are so many soybean products and also didn t realize that soybeans are used to make biodiesel. Learning about soybean biodiesel was very interesting to me. About the course in general, Milnes said, The Soybean Science Challenge really did a great job of covering a wide range of topics. I learned much more than I had hoped while doing the Challenge. The Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge Award program is a new partnership between the UofA Cooperative Extension Service and the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, said Dr. Karen Ballard, Extension developer and coordinator of the award. The goal of the Arkansas Soybean Science challenge is to engage students in real world education to support soybean production and agricultural sustainability, said Shannon Davis, president of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. The program also rewards scientific inquiry and discovery that supports the Arkansas soybean industry. The Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge was opened in January 2014 to 9-12 grade science students. Students who successfully completed the online course were eligible to have their original soybean-related research projects judged at the 2014 ISEF affiliated Arkansas science and engineering fairs. Information on the Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge will be available in summer For more information, contact Dr. Karen Ballard or Dr. Julie Robinson at or jrobinson@uaex.edu. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Rachel Milnes Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge Regional Winner Northeast Arkansas Science & Engineering Fair Project Title: Soybeans Starve from Soil Salinity

3 Abstract: What are the effects of soil salts on the health of soybeans? Soil salts are said to have negative effects on soybeans. The higher the concentrations of salt in the plants' water, the greater the negative effects will be. The results will show an increase in negative effects as the concentration of salts added to the plants increases. Certain types of soybeans are more susceptible to salts than others. The salts affect the osmotic pressure which determines if the plants are able to absorb nutrients. The different soybean types were planted in flats and moved into hydroponics where salt concentrations were added. The leaves of the soybeans were taken, dried in an oven, ground up, and measured out. Water was added to these tissue samples and pieces of tissue were filtered. The samples were measured into vials along with an acid reagent and tested. Results show that the more chloride in the samples, the worse the effects on the plants. The sets of data support the hypothesis, while disproving other assumptions. The regression lines on the graphs are relatively reliable models for the data; however they do not provide completely accurate projections beyond 150 mm. The soil salts will affect the soybean plants' growth in a negative way. The sets of data support and deny parts of the hypothesis. Farmers will not want to plant their soybeans in areas with high soil salinity because it will affect susceptible and non-susceptible soybeans almost equally. Experiments can be conducted based on this data. The results would differ if this experiment was conducted in warmer conditions, using a wider variety of soybeans and soil salts, and different salt concentrations.

4 Rachel Milnes, Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge regional winner at the Northeast Arkansas Science & Engineering Fair with her award certificate. Milnes also received a $300 cash award from the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.

5 Rachel Milnes, holding her Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge Certificate and her tote bag of soybean-related items with Drew Oliver, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board member. The Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board and the UofA Cooperative Extension Center provided the promotional items for the tote bag.