Studying Plant Genetics With Pollination

(music)

(Three house-like buildings built side-by-side, connected. The outer wall of the far left building is corrugated metal. The front of the buildings are made up of windows. There are two large, exhaust fans on the left side of the far left building above three box-like structures. Three large, exhaust fans are also attached to the corrugated metal side of the far left building. There is a door in the left, front corner of the far right building. Snow is on the ground in front of the buildings.)

[Abby Brown] All plants need water, sunlight and soil to grow. Outside the sun, the rain and the Earth provides everything.

(Abby is walking along a row of tall, green plants. She is wearing a pink shirt under a jean jacket and has on safety goggles.)

[Abby] Inside, scientists have to provide everything. In fact, scientists get to choose everything and small changes can make a huge difference. Let's go meet one of those scientists.

[Dr. Magan Lewis] Hi. My name is Dr. Magan and I'm a global field innovation scientist at Corteva Agriscience.

(Magan is standing in front of tall, green plants. She is wearing a long sleeved, dark blue, fleece pullover with a string of pearls around her neck. She also has on safety goggles.)

[Magan] I'm a scientist that gets to work with plants every single day.

(music)

(Water sliding through cupped hands over a small, green plant in a field.

Time lapse video of a green plant growing through dark soil.

The sun rises over a green, corn field as wispy clouds move across the sky.)

[Magan] There are many different types of plants.

(A green forest with tall trees.)

[Magan] Plants grow all around the world in multiple environments, environments like the very one that we're standing in today, the greenhouse.

(music)

(Magan inside the greenhouse with tall, green plants behind her. She points her thumbs over her shoulders back towards the large, green plants behind her.

Three greenhouses connected with two large exhaust fans on the far left and a door in the front right corner of the greenhouse on the furthest right side.

Two rows of 13 exhaust fans attached to the corrugated side of the last green house on the left.)

[Magan] Greenhouses allow us to plant plants all year round, even when it's cold and snowy in Iowa. Greenhouses provide warmth and light and water to the plants so they can grow healthy and strong.

(Inside the green house. Rows of tall, green plants.)

(music)

(Magan in front of tall, green plants in the greenhouse.)

[Magan] Just like people get stressed, plants get stressed too. Think about bad weather, insects and diseases.

(Farm fields during a thunderstorm at dusk. A fork of lightning strikes the earth behind a modern three blade wind turbine. There are eight modern wind turbines in the fields.)

[Magan] They have huge battles.

(A black and yellow caterpillar-like insect gnawing on a green leaf.)

[Magan] I help plants fight those battles, battles against not enough water, too much water, insects, diseases. I get to be the plant superhero.

(A drawing of a strawberry with a big smile and large eyes. The strawberry holds its hands up by the top of its head and flexes its muscles like its a boxing champ who has won the fight.

Magan with her hands at her hips like a superhero.)

[Magan] I help the plants become strong and healthy. I'm basically saving the day one plant at a time.

(music)

(text on screen. What is Pollination?)

(A combine harvesting a farm field.)

[Magan] Pollination is the process in which plants make seed and provide fruits and vegetables for all to eat. Outside you may remember learning about the heroes of pollination, insects and wind.

(text on screen. Super!)

[Magan] When you think about pollination you may recall seeing bumblebees with the yellow dust on the back and traveling to nearby flowers.

(A bee gathering pollen from a yellow flower.)

[Magan] That is basically what we're doing in the greenhouse except I get to lead that process.

(music)

[Magan] Keith is going to show first the female part of the corn plant.

(Keith removes a paper bag from the corn plant to reveal the top of the cornstalk which has a top made up of dark, golden, short, strings just above the closed green husk.)

[Magan] As you can see, that is called a silk. Each silk turns into a kernel on the corn cob.

(music)

[Magan] Now we're going to tap the tassel which is the male part of the corn plant and we're going to bring that pollen to the female part which is again the hair like structures called silk.

(The top of the cornstalk which has a top made up of dark, golden, short, strings just above the closed green husk.)

[Magan] So this is pollen and it's the perfect color.

(Small reddish-brown seeds with bright, yellow dust sitting on light brown paper.)

[Magan] You see how it's bright yellow? That bright yellow means that we're going to have a successful pollination.

(music)

[Magan] Keith is going to take the pollen and put it on the silk, those hair like structures, and that is pollination, kids.

(Keith places the open end of the light,  brown bag over the silk at the end of a corn stalk and shakes the bag.)

(music)

[Magan] So this came from the tassel and it was placed on those silks.

(Small reddish-brown seeds with bright, yellow dust sitting on light brown paper.)

[Magan] And it's going to travel down each silk to form those individual kernels.

(music)

(The top of the cornstalk which has a top made up of dark, golden, short, strings just above the closed green husk. 

A corn cob still on the corn plant where the silk was with all of the kernels on the cob. A light brown bag is wedged behind the corn cob.)

[Abby] Magan, thank you so much to you and all of the scientists that it takes to feed the world.

(Abby and Magan standing in front of a row of corn in the greenhouse.)

[Magan] And thank you to the farmer.

[Abby] Girls and boys, can you imagine what science will be like in another generation? Perhaps you will be the next scientist that does this work!

[Announcer] Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by the following supporters.

(text on screen Find Iowa, Coons Foundation, Pella, Gilchrist Foundation)

(text on screen Iowa PBS Education)