Specialty Words
Annual: A plant that flowers, produces seed, and completes its life cycle in one growing season.
Antioxidant: A substance that reduces damage by preventing oxidation.
Aqueduct: A pipe or channel designed to transport water from a remote source, usually by gravity.
Bedding plants: A plant suitable for planting in a flower bed for one season’s display.
Botanical: Relating to plants, especially to the scientific study of plants.
Clamshell: A container with two hinges that holds produce for consumers to buy.
Climate: The general atmospheric conditions for a location; including rainfall, temperature, and humidity.
Contaminates: Foreign matter that makes something impure, unclean, or polluted.
Deciduous: Trees and bushes that shed their leaves in the fall.
Family: A taxonomic category of related organisms, ranking below an order and above a genus.
Foliage: A cluster of leaves.
Gene: A segment of a chromosome. Some genes direct the syntheses of proteins, while others have regulatory functions.
Genus: A category in the taxonomic classification of related organisms, comprising of one or more species.
Greenhouse: A building for growing plants under controlled conditions made of glass or plastic.
Humidity: Dampness, especially of the air.
Hybrid: A plant or animal resulting from a cross between parents that are genetically different.
Irrigation: The application of water to the land used in agriculture to help crops grow.
Micro-climate: A local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area.
Native: Originating, growing, or produced in a certain place or region; indigenous.
Ornamental: Plants typically used for flower gardens, house plants, landscaping, or cut flowers.
Pathogen: A biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host, also known as germs.
Perennial: A plant that lasts for more than one growing season, either dying back after each season or growing continuously.
Photosynthesis: The process of converting light energy to chemical energy and storing it in the form of food for the plant.
Phytonutrients: Naturally occurring compounds found in plants that function as antioxidants, promote immunity, increase communication with cells in the body, and help repair damage to DNA. Also known as phytochemicals.
Punnett Square: A diagram that is used to predict an outcome of a particular cross or breeding experiment. Used by biologists to determine the probability of an offspring’s having a particular genotype.
Rind: A thin, shiny outer layer of the produce, also known as the skin. This is a protective layer to keep disease and insects out of the fruit.
Scientific Name: The recognized Latin name given to an organism, consisting of a genus and species.
Shade House: A building used to help plants that do better in shady conditions grow, or to help those that were started in a greenhouse adjust to the outdoor environment.
Species: A group of organisms with common characteristics.
Staple Foods: Food regularly consumed and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet. Examples include wheat, fish, peanuts, and rice.
Super Foods: Foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
Therapeutic: An item used to maintain or improve health.
Trait: A genetically determined characteristic or condition.
Activity
In complete sentences and in your own words, use what you learned in this newspaper tab to define specialty crops. List three examples.
Standards: ELA – Grade 3: Reading (R) 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6; Grade 4: R 2.2, 2.3; Grade 5: R 2.4; Grade 6: R 2.1, 2.4; Grade 7: R 1.3; Grade 8: R 1.3 15 Resources:
California Bountiful Television
For a fast-paced, entertaining introduction to the farmers who grow specialty crops and the people who help bring those crops to you, watch the California Bountiful television program. Find the broadcast schedule for your area.
www.californiabountiful.com.
Resources
American Pistachio Growers
www.thegreennut.org
Arbor Day Foundation
www.arborday.org
California Cut Flower Commission
www.ccfc.org
California Department of Food and Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov
California Strawberry Commission
www.calstrawberry.org
Fruits and Veggies More Matters
www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org
Highbush Berry Council
www.blueberry.org
Iowa State University Cooperative Extension
www.extension.iastate.edu
MyPlate
www.myplate.gov
National Watermelon Promotion Board
www.watermelon.org
Network for a Healthy California
www.harvestofthemonth.com
Purdue University
www.hort.purdue.edu
UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
www.ucanr.org
United States Department of Agriculture
www.usda.gov
Water Education Foundation
www.watereducation.org
To request a free What’s Growin’ On? extra extra Extensions to enhance the use of this newspaper, or for answer key, visit
www.LearnAboutAg.org/wgo or call (800) 700-AITC(2482).
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