Orientation program for B.Sc.

(Agriculture) candidates 2014

Faculty of Agriculture
University of Ruhuna
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Developing competence in writing

Lesson 1
Summarizing scientific information
Activity 1.1 Read the following text and summarize the information into a chart

Self pollination Vs Cross pollination

In the process of cross pollination, the pollen is transferred from one plant
to another by a pollinator, such as an insect, or by the wind. In self
pollination, the plants stamen sheds pollen directly onto its own stigma
(the same flower or another flower in the same plant). Cross pollination is
prominent in many species such as grasses, strawberries, pumpkins,
papaya and maize, while rice, wheat, tomatoes and orchids are some
examples for self pollinated plants.
The plants in these two categories have evolved their floral morphologies to suit the requirement, which
means, the flowers of cross pollinated species contain brightly coloured petals, nectar and scent to attract
pollinators and have long stamens and pistils to facilitate wind driven pollination. On the other hand, self
pollinators bear comparatively smaller flowers that usually lack above features. Cross pollinated plants
usually produce a large number of pollen grains compared to self pollinated species.
Cross pollination is advantageous because it allows diversity in the species, as the genetic information of
different plants is combined. However it relies on the existence of pollinators that will travel from plant
to plant. Self pollination leads to more uniform progeny, meaning that the species is, for example, is less
resistance as a whole to diseases. However, it does not need to spend energy on attracting pollinators.

Activity 1.2 The paragraph given below explains the main stages of cheese making. Prepare a flow
diagram using the information given

Orientation program for B.Sc. (Agriculture) candidates 2014

Developing competence in writing

Lesson 2
Explaining scientific data presented in summarized form.

Activity 2.1 Write a paragraph to explain the facts given in the following table

Activity 2.2 The following graph indicates the results of an experiment, which was conducted to
evaluate the fat oxidation potential of green tea in humans. Interpret the data presented in the graph.

Orientation program for B.Sc. (Agriculture) candidates 2014

Developing competence in writing

Lesson 3
Recording experiments
Activity 3.1 Carefully read the experimental protocol given below. Follow the instructions to record
the experiment in your laboratory report

Procedure:
1. Obtain young leaves from plants growing outdoors
and wash them initially with tap water to remove
any dust particles.
2. Wash the leaves with phosphate buffer and gently
homogenize with the motar and pestle.
3. Centrifuge the crude protoplast suspension at very
low 50-100 rpm for 10 minutes.
4. Carefully pipette out the supernatant containing
intact protoplasts. Discard the pellet containing cell
debris and other cell organelles.
5. Place a small volume of the supernatant on a clean
slide and cover with a cover slip
6. Observe the slide in a light microscope to find out
viable protoplasts

Format for the laboratory report

Date: ..
Title: .
Introduction:
Objective/aim:
Materials:

Method:
.
.
Results and Discussion:
.
Conclusions:
.

Prepared by
Nalika P. Ranathunge, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna
2014 February