Mystery Diagnosis

Mystery Diagnosis

Common Plant Problems and How to Fix Them
Lesson: 2.16
Level:
Beginner
Station: Soil Management
Format: Essential Skill
Rating:
Lesson 2.16 Mystery Diagnosis

Lesson Overview

Farmers must keep an watchful eye on their crops in order to detect any problems that might present. This lesson establishes the basis for a plant inspection process that will become part of the daily routine in the Lab.

Goals

  • Identify common plant problems
  • Describe ways to fix common plant problems

Outcomes

Students will inspect the individual plants in the Edible Learning Lab in order to discover any problems or diseases.

Teaching Primer

blossom end rotIn the world of sports, the best defense is a good offense, or so the saying goes. That might be true in the gardening world as well. Many plant problems and diseases stem from an excess or deficiency of something the plant needs. Too much light, too little water, too high temperatures, or too little nutrients and something will manifest in the plants.

So doing what you can to avoid problems upfront is a great strategy, a good offense as they say. But Mother Nature will have her way on occasion and you need to have a plan for identifying the problem and the knowledge to address it.

That’s where this lesson will prove invaluable. It will help you and your green thumb Students diagnose common plant problems and diseases and give you some basic knowledge on how to remedy the issue.

Teach the Teacher

Tools & Materials

  • Printout of Plant Problems and Diseases article

Vocabulary

  • Mildew
  • Rot
  • Deficiency
  • Blight

Method

Introduction (10 minutes)

Begin the lesson with a review of the various plant problems and diseases. Identify the key characteristics and describe what to look for on the plants.

Activity (15 minutes)

Have the Students perform an audit of all the plants in the Lab. Ask them to pay special attention to the leaves, stems, and fruit. When they identify a possible issue, review the signs with them and compare those to the profiles in the Plant problems and diseases article. If a problem or disease is confirmed or highly suspected, gather the Students around that plant and discuss it as a group.

Discussion (10 minutes)

What issues did you find? How should we treat it? Is the plant able to be saved? Do you think it will affect the productivity of that plant?

Assessment (5 minutes)

Use the following questions to assess the Students before and after the lesson. Tally the responses of the group in the Assessment Tracking Log for comparison:

  • Raise your hand if you think plants can get diseases.
  • Now that you know some ways to help a plant recover from a condition or disease, raise your hand if you think you could help other people diagnose issues in their gardens.

Related Lessons

Give the Intermediate or Advanced lessons a try now that you’ve completed the Beginner Lesson!

This lesson, and all other lessons on this website, are intended for use by teachers in the classroom. These lessons are protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction or distribution of lesson content, supporting materials, or digital creative is prohibited with written permission from Modern Steader LLC.