Evaluating Sheep Wool Pellets as a Sustainable Alternative for Water Conservation in Drought-Prone Areas
Category
High School
Department
Undeclared
Student Status
High School
Research Advisor
Karisa Boyer
Document Type
Event
Location
Student Center Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
Water consumption is an increasingly critical concern in the world today. 70% of global water consumption falls under the agricultural category, and this is a huge issue in drought-prone areas. Sheep have to be sheared periodically and for small farms, the amount of wool obtained is not economically valuable. However, pellets can be made from the wool. This study was conducted to test how sheep wool pellets affect the amount of water consumption in the Rapid Cycling Brassica rapa, which can not only bring about a reasoning to use sheep wool pellets but also create a way to maintain water retention in the soil of drought-prone areas, decreasing the amount of water consumption. This experiment used 72 Brassica rapa plants, broken down into 3 groups: 24 plants were planted in a 0% sheep wool pellet, 100% soil mixture, 24 were planted in a 5% sheep wool pellet mixture, 95% soil, and 24 plants were planted in a 10% sheep wool pelle mixture, 90% soil. The experiment, including the germination process, was conducted over a 14 day period with measurements taken every third day. Results found from the experiment were positive but not statistically significant, meaning there is still a visible correlation between the two variables.
Evaluating Sheep Wool Pellets as a Sustainable Alternative for Water Conservation in Drought-Prone Areas
Student Center Ballroom
Water consumption is an increasingly critical concern in the world today. 70% of global water consumption falls under the agricultural category, and this is a huge issue in drought-prone areas. Sheep have to be sheared periodically and for small farms, the amount of wool obtained is not economically valuable. However, pellets can be made from the wool. This study was conducted to test how sheep wool pellets affect the amount of water consumption in the Rapid Cycling Brassica rapa, which can not only bring about a reasoning to use sheep wool pellets but also create a way to maintain water retention in the soil of drought-prone areas, decreasing the amount of water consumption. This experiment used 72 Brassica rapa plants, broken down into 3 groups: 24 plants were planted in a 0% sheep wool pellet, 100% soil mixture, 24 were planted in a 5% sheep wool pellet mixture, 95% soil, and 24 plants were planted in a 10% sheep wool pelle mixture, 90% soil. The experiment, including the germination process, was conducted over a 14 day period with measurements taken every third day. Results found from the experiment were positive but not statistically significant, meaning there is still a visible correlation between the two variables.
