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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

ground juniper wood, sagebrush seed agglomerates, fungicide alternative

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

Sagebrush seed agglomerates (referred to as ‘agglomerates’ in the remainder of the report) are small balls of seed, clay, and compost that allow us to treat sagebrush seeds with germination enhancers. The goal of my project was to determine whether we could use the antimicrobial properties of juniper wood to reduce fungal attack of sagebrush seed by replacing the compost component of agglomerates with ground juniper. We met our goal, and determined that juniper wood does not act as an effective fungal deterrent. However, we did successfully incorporate juniper into agglomerates, which added consistency and repeatability to the agglomerate recipe by replacing the variable compost component. We also made an important discovery involving an interaction between one of our germination enhancers and other components of our seed coating recipes.

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