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  • To Spray or Not to Spray: Soil Fumigation in Southern Forests
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To Spray or Not to Spray: Soil Fumigation in Southern Forests

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Engineering and Forest Products
  • Fungicide
  • Herbicide
  • Methyl Bromide
  • Ozone Layer
  • Plant Nurseries
  • Soil
PDF preview of "To Spray or Not to Spray"
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Forestry operations depend on the continuous supply of healthy tree seedlings. Seedlings are small trees grown from seeds in nurseries. To provide healthy seedlings, chemicals are applied to the soil in a procedure called soil fumigation. One of the most effective chemicals used is methyl bromide. The scientist in this study studied potential alternatives to the use of methyl bromide.

To Spray or Not to Spray: Soil Fumigation in Southern Forests

Part Of

Fall 1998 - Vol. 1 No. 1

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  • After reading “To Spray or Not to Spray,” test your understanding with a word search.

    Word Search – To Spray or Not to Spray

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • Less than 30 minutes
    • Vocabulary
    • Word Game
    After reading “To Spray or Not to Spray,” test your understanding with a word search.
    Explore Activity Download Activity (PDF) Download Answer Key (PDF)
    Explore Activity Download Activity (PDF) Download Answer Key (PDF)

    Part Of

    To Spray or Not to Spray: Soil Fumigation in Southern Forests

Glossary

View All Glossary
  • fumigant

    (fyü mi gənt): A substance used in fumigating, which is applying smoke, vapor, or gas especially for the purpose of disinfecting or of destroying pests.

  • fumigation

    (fyü mǝ gā shǝn): The process of applying smoke, vapor, or gas to something especially for the purpose of disinfecting or of destroying pests.

  • fungicide

    (fǝn jǝ sīd): A substance that destroys fungi or inhibits their growth.

  • herbicide

    ((h)ər bə sīd): A substance used to destroy or slow plant growth.

  • methyl bromide

    (me thəl brō mīd): A poisonous gaseous compound used chiefly as a fumigant against rodents, worms, and insects.

  • nursery

    (nǝr s(ǝ) rē): A place where plants (like trees or shrubs) are grown for transplanting, for use as stocks in grafting, or for sale.

  • ozone layer

    (ō zōn lā ər): A layer of the Earth’s atmosphere at heights of about 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 kilometers) that is normally characterized by high ozone content which blocks most of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation from entry into the lower atmosphere.

  • questionnaire

    (kwes chǝ ner): A set of questions for obtaining statistically useful or personal information from individuals.

  • seedling

    (sēd liŋ): A young plant grown from a seed.

Jump To

  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide

Standards addressed in this Article:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Production, Distribution, and Consumption
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

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What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

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  • Meet the Scientists

    Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.

  • What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

    Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.

  • Thinking About Science

    Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.

  • Thinking About the Environment

    Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.

  • Introduction

    Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.

  • Method

    Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.

  • Findings & Discussion

    Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.

  • Reflection Section

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  • Number Crunches

    Presents an easy math problem related to the research.

  • Glossary

    Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.

  • Citation

    Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.

  • FACTivity

    Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.


Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.


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