Resources by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS)

Plant Disease Detectives

In this activity, students act as detectives, piecing together information from the sources provided to identify common plant diseases, including the type of pathogen causing it, ways in which the disease is spread, and how to stop the spread.

The activity will help students to demonstrate the following...

Plant Disease Practicals - Identifying the Cause of Brown Rot

In this practical activity, students explore how the technique of re-infection (using infected material to infect healthy plant tissue) can help to identify the cause of a plant disease.

 Ideas about communicable diseases in plants are included in the updated programmes of study for Key Stage 4 science...

Plant Disease Practicals - Investigating Violet Bramble Rust

In this practical activity, students use magnification to examine leaves showing symptoms of a common plant disease, and produce labelled drawings of the fungal spores.

Ideas about communicable diseases in plants are included in the updated programmes of study for Key Stage 4 science published in December...

Plant Disease Practicals - Powdery Mildew

In this practical and data analysis activity students collect samples of leaves showing samples of infection with powdery mildew; the samples can be sent for analysis as part of the Powdery Mildew Survey citizen science project.

Students analyse data from the survey at the end of this activity.

Plant disease practicals: identifying the cause of brown rot

In this practical activity, students explore how the technique of re-infection (using infected material to infect healthy plant tissue) can help to identify the cause of a plant disease.

The activity will help students to demonstrate the following learning outcome at KS4:

• describe ways to...

Plant disease practicals: investigating violet bramble rust

In this practical activity, students use magnification to examine leaves showing symptoms of a common plant disease and produce labelled drawings of the fungal spores.

The activity will help students to demonstrate the following learning outcomes at KS4:

• describe a common plant disease...

Plant disease practicals: powdery mildew

In this practical and data analysis activity, students collect samples of leaves showing samples of infection with powdery mildew; the samples can be sent for analysis as part of the ...

Plant Pathogens - Identification

The poster ‘Plant Pathogens – Identification’ illustrates diagnostic tests that are commonly used to identify plant pathogens in the lab and in the field.

The poster is accompanied by a presentation, which can be used as a step-by-step walkthrough of the ideas in the poster.

Plant Pathogens: Control

The poster ‘Plant Pathogens: Control’ illustrates the many ways that we control plant pathogens, from polyculture farming to controlling the import of plants.The poster is accompanied by a presentation, which can be used as a step-by-step walk-through of the ideas in the poster. Full teaching notes are given,...

Plant Power: C4 Rice - Photosynthesis and Food Security

Can understanding photosynthesis help save thousands of lives a year?

This poster and accompanying article introduce C3 and C4 photosynthesis in the context of food security and genetic modification.

Rice biologists have a problem. Rice is a staple food for more than half the world’s...