the Casewhat happened to my garden

What Happened to My Garden?
Part I: Introduction
Bill’s grandparents have had a garden for as long as he could remember. As they got older, he helped them with the heavy lifting, moving dirt, digging potatoes, etc. But they still did most of the work, and reaped the fruits and vegetables of their labors most years.
But this year was different. His grandparents’ peppers, kale, potatoes, and other vegetables were not only not thriving, they were dying – all of them. It had been an exceptionally wet year; usually they had to water everyday, but there had been enough rain to limit watering. In addition, Bill had set them up with a catchment system to catch and collect rainwater off the roof of their house. They had been using this to water the plants this year. His grandparents thought this water might be affecting their crops, or maybe it was the hailstorm they had early in the season. They had always saved seeds to replant every year, so that shouldn’t be a problem, should it? They also had new neighbors who had planted a garden right across the fence. They were a young family, just moved in, and they started their garden a bit late, but his grandparents were giving them advice.
What do you think could be causing Bill’s grandparents’ garden to die off? Describe a few possibilities. The damp weather could have caused the plants to rot and die.
The hailstorm could have damaged the plants irreversibly.
Acid rain could be the cause, since acid rain has the ability of lowering the pH of the soil, thus killing the plants that need a higher pH to thrive.

Since there has been too much rain, the levels of pH could have fallen dramatically.
Maybe the neighbors used something in their garden that harmed the grandparents’ plants, too. They could have used pesticides and the rainwater could contain dissolved pesticides in it.
Choose one of your explanations above (hypotheses), and construct an experiment to test it. My hypothesis is that if the neighbors had recently sprayed pesticides over their crops, then the great amount of rainwater contained high amounts of dissolved pesticides in it.
Part II: Testing
Bill was a fourth-year student at the local university, and was studying agriculture. He knew a couple students who were doing research in plant physiology and toxicity, and thought he might ask them what they thought. One of his friends thought his professor might be able to help, so Bill emailed the professor asking for help. After a week, he heard back. The professor wanted him to bring in a sample. When he brought by the sample, he didn’t realize he was signing up for more work: the professor paired him up with a new graduate student, Fernando, and told them to figure it out. Fernando had a couple of ideas, and they began their testing. Their first goal was to examine the plant tissues under a microscope using special stains for chloroplasts. The chloroplasts were definitely damaged, and much of the tissue was dead.
What cellular process occurs in the chloroplast? The main function of chloroplasts is photosynthesis.
What would happen to a plant that could not perform this process? Be as specific as possible. Without photosynthesis, the plant cannot produce its own food to grow. It cannot capture solar energy and convert it and stores it in the molecules ATP and NADPH.
Part III: More Results
Bill and Fernando continued testing. Bill told Fernando about the water collection, the hailstorm, and the neighbor’s garden. Fernando thought about this, and wondered aloud, “You said the neighbor’s garden was put in late. I wonder if they might have sprayed an herbicide to kill the weeds before planting. If they did, this might explain why your grandparents’ garden is dying, particularly the plants on one side.” So they set out testing for herbicides in the dead plants, and came up with the second most commonly used: atrazine.
How does atrazine act to kill plants? 1. It is a herbicide used to kill weeds. It is sprayed on the weeds before the crops start to grow. It dissolves in the water and is absorbed by the weed through its roots (“ATSDR – Public Health Statement: Atrazine”, 2003). Subsequently, it prevents the weed from conducting photosynthesis, thus stopping its growth and eventually killing it (“ATSDR – Public Health Statement: Atrazine”, 2003)
2.Predict how this would affect both parts of photosynthesis. Be as detailed as possible, and include in your answer both of the main steps in photosynthesis. The solar energy will not be captured and stored into ATP. Then the ATP will not be used to produce glucose for the nourishment of the plant.
Part IV: The Reveal
The new neighbors were deeply apologetic and offered to share whatever fruits and vegetables they were able to grow. His grandparents took it well, and were lucky enough not to totally rely on the garden for food. However, it did get Bill thinking about how important photosynthesis is, not only to humans, but to all life on earth.
In a paragraph or two, describe the importance of photosynthesis to life on earth. Without this function, crops would vanish. Therefore, herbivores would die and carnivores would starve to death. Human population would also be eliminated from the planet.
Bill also started thinking about the damage herbicides can cause if not used properly. In a paragraph or two, describe one to two of the dangers of atrazine in particular. Remember to cite your sources using APA Style.
Atrazine is a chemical, which is dissolved in water. When it reaches the crops, then it gets absorbed in the ground and reaches underground water. In this way it pollutes drinkable water for humans and animals. It could lead to teratogenesis in embryos.
References
ATSDR – Public Health Statement: Atrazine. (2003). Retrieved from https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=336&tid=59