How to Preserve a Carved Halloween Jack-o-Lantern

Your carved pumpkin or Halloween jack-o-lantern doesnt have to rot or mold before Halloween! Here is how to use chemistry to preserve a jack-o-lantern so that it will last for weeks instead of days. Key Takeaways While a pumpkin may last weeks or months without rotting, once you carve it, the exposed flesh is susceptible to rot.Decay can be minimized by applying a disinfectant or preservative, such as bleach, salt, or sugar.A carved pumpkin can be sealed with oil or petroleum jelly to lock in moisture and minimize puckering.Its important to keep a carved pumpkin cool when its not in use. Increasing the temperature basically incubates mold and bacteria. How to Preserve a Carved Pumpkin Mix up a preservative solution for your carved pumpkin consisting of 2 teaspoons of household bleach per gallon of water.Fill a sink, bucket, or tub with enough of the bleach solution to totally immerse the carved jack-o-lantern. Place the jack-o-lantern in the bleach mixture right after you have finished carving it. Soak the carved pumpkin for 8 hours or overnight.Remove the pumpkin from the liquid and allow it to air dry. Spray the pumpkin inside and outside with a commercial pumpkin preservative or use your own mixture, consisting of 1 teaspoon of bleach in water. Spray the pumpkin once daily, to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold.Smear petroleum jelly on all of the cut surfaces of the pumpkin. This will prevent the pumpkin from drying out and getting that puckered, shriveled look.Protect the  jack-o-lantern  from sun or rain, since one will dry the pumpkin out, while the other will promote the growth of mold. If possible, refrigerate your jack-o-lantern when its not in u se. How Pumpkin Preservation Works Bleach is dilute sodium hypochlorite, an oxidizer that kills microorganisms that decay the pumpkin, including mold, fungi, and bacteria. You need to reapply it because it loses its effectiveness fairly quickly. The petroleum jelly locks in moisture so the jack-o-lantern doesnt get dehydrated. Now that you know how to keep it fresh, make a science Halloween jack-o-lantern. More Tips to Preserve Pumpkins Another way to make a pumpkin last is to simply wait until its closer to Halloween to carve it. One idea is to mark the carving for the big event, but not actually cut it. Then coat the entire pumpkin except the areas to be carved with glow-in-the-dark paint. This gives you a glowing pumpkin with dark areas where the carving will go.While bleach reacts with air so that it needs to be reapplied, you can get lasting protection against critters and mold by treating a carved pumpkin with borax. You can either sprinkle borax powder around the interior of the jack-o-lantern and the carved surfaces or you can dip the pumpkin in a solution of borax in water.If youre concerned about the potential toxicity of bleach or borax (or simply dont have them), you can deter rotting and mold using salt. It doesnt matter whether you use table salt or road salt. You can either soak the pumpkin in brine (saturated saline solution) or else rub salt into the cut surfaces and interior of the jack-o-lantern. Again, you can seal the pumpkin with petroleum jelly to keep it from shriveling up. Salt prevents rot by dehydrating cells.While salt is a better preservative, sugar also dehydrates cells. The same techniques used for salt may also be applied to sugar.Another good tip is to use care when selecting your pumpkin. If you can, try to select a pumpkin that is fresh and firm. A freshly cut pumpkin wont have a shriveled stem or soft spots anywhere on the fruit. You have a much better chance of keeping a pumpkin until Halloween if it doesnt have an established colony of bacteria and mold.When you carve the pumpkin, clean the inside as well as possible. If you leave any strings or seeds, youre  providing extra surface area for microbial growth. Its easier to keep a smooth surface clean than a rough one.

Christian Overview Essay - 1812 Words

Introduction Whether or not we recognize it, each person has a worldview. In essence, each person has implicit assumptions as well as prejudices about the world, which in most occasions influence the manner in which we regard situations around us. Generally, a worldview is a kind of lenses that corrupts our view of the world around us. Singularly, our worldview is shaped by our level of education and cultural background, as well as upbringing among many other environmental factors. For most people, their worldview is nothing more than what they have observed in the environment. To these kinds of people, they wouldn’t be in a position to provide a rationale reason of their beliefs to others. Christian worldview As defined in ()†¦show more content†¦Ordinarily, the reason behind that is their worldview; which is an inclination to the manner in which they see things, as either the result of accidental happenings or God’s doings (). A number of people acquire their worldview genetically. Moreover for others, they acquire their worldview from the people they interact with regularly, such as their family along with friends, together with the media as well as life’s experiences. Even though, a few followers of Christ affirm strongly to have developed their worldview, direct from the Holy Scriptures that is debatable. Most likely, they have determined with certainty to interpret scriptures with a worldview. In this way, even whatever they find in scripture is shaped by what they prognosticate. For the most part, worldviews vary with time contingent upon general environmental factors. Despite some people having a single worldview their entire life, for others, their worldviews undergo gradual transformation. A single worldview is possible particularly for community and tribal cultures. Nevertheless, in modern world the worldview of a person is more likely to be in a state of dynamism. This is true because in most occasions, our worldview transforms in much the same manner in which it was gotten; by experience as well as interactions. With reference to experiences: wherever a person continuously experiences situations that are beyond explanation, such a person is probably likely to search for answersShow MoreRelatedChristian Counseling: An Overview1470 Words   |  6 Pagesteaching in Christian counseling will lay out the foundational requirement to enable the ones called by God to be an effective counselor. The book of Philippians 1:6 states, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (The Holy Bible: New International Version). 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Oddly enough the five most common adjectives used by people literalistic, anti-intellectual, self-righteous, judgmental, and bigoted. Us Christians might object, rather defensively to try an sway the crowd, playing the card off, â€Å"that s unfair to draw sweeping conclusions based upon the report of one person in the church.† If you think that way, you d be rightRead MoreBulls, Bears and Golden Calves: A Thorough Overview With a Christian Perspective of Economic and Ethical Analysis 2287 Words   |  10 PagesJohn Stapleford’s book, Bulls, Bears, and Golden Calves, provides a thorough overview with a Christian perspective of economic and ethical analysis. He reviews the moral challenges of macro, micro, and international economic issues. Stapleford covers a variety of important public policy issues such as self-interest, economic efficiency, and private property rights. He begins the book by laying a foundation of ethical thought and an analytical framework. 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Biological Pest Control Case Study †the cassava mealybug Free Essays

The Cassava plant was brought to Africa from South America in the 16th century. The next four years the starchy thickened roots became the main source of food for millions of Africans, providing up to 70% of the recommended daily intake. The cassava plant is the habitat of the cassava mealybug and is damaged by the insect. We will write a custom essay sample on Biological Pest Control Case Study – the cassava mealybug or any similar topic only for you Order Now The problem – The cassava mealybug- eating cassava plant- biological control of mealybug by using wasps. When the cassava plant was introduced to Africa most of its predators for example mites and plant diseases, were not also introduced therefore leaving the plant free of most of its predators but in the 1970’s a pest called the cassava mealybug was accidently introduced from Latin America(2) The pest is a rare insect but it quickly spread across the entire cassava plant growing area and due to the lack of natural predators within 10 years it became the most important pest insect on cassava causing a loss of up 80% of crop. The mealybug(5) shown on left hand side of text has damaged the cassava plants by sucking sap from roots, tender leaves; petioles and fruit form the plant. The severely infested leaves of the cassava plant will turn yellow (3) and gradually dry out a severe attack on the cassava plant can result in shredding of leaves. On the right is a picture (4) of a cassava plant which has been infested by the mealybug. Another problem with the mealybugs is that some will inject a toxic substance while feeding causing deformation of the cassava plant and therefore there was less food to be harvest. Although timing is not regular, depending on biological events and conditions such as area under cultivation and climatic factors, it seems that major new diseases or strains of cassava disease tend to appear every 7–10 years. Table below shows the disease problem in Arica. Biological methods/ processes- biological control of invasive species. Cassava mosaic and mealybug control programs were introduced in the 1970s (2) to combat these two problems, the decline in crop because of the mealybug eating the plant and further decline because of the spread of disease. The Institute of Biological Control (CIBC) based in Trinidad and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) researched into how the mealybug was kept under control in South America. They eventually found that a tiny wasp (smaller than the head of a pin) called the Leptomastix, which laid its eggs on the mealybug was keeping the mealy bugs under control therefore protecting the cassava plant. The picture on the right shows the small wasp on the mealybug larvae. You can read also Costco Case Study The picture on the left shows an infected cassava tuber dug from the field and sliced open. The wasps were able to control the cassava eating the cassava crops by the wasp laying eggs on the mealybug they grew on the mealybug, the wasp larvae then killing the mealybug this would have a huge effect on the population as seen in South America, of the mealybug and therefore restoring the natural balance. This could be the breakthrough that they were looking for and could control the mealybug. Meeting the challenge Tests were run on the wasp by the CABI Bioscience in the UK. There the mealybug was tested to see how highly specific they are to the cassava mealybug host because if they were not then they could also affect other insects in the continent and therefore would be too dangerous to introduce to the area. The results showed that the wasp was highly specific to the insect (mealybug) so were given the okay to be shipped to Africa so they then can be reared and then the distributed to other areas around Africa. This was a huge breakthrough as without this research it had the ability to cause huge damage on the environment and the economy because of further damage to other crops. Appropriateness.-Has been successful with the mealybug. The mealybug feeds on the cassava stem, petiole, and leaf near the growing point of the cassava plant. During feeding, the mealybug injects a toxin that causes leaf curling, slowing of shoot growth, and eventual leaf withering. This is the effect the cassava mealybug has on the plant resulting in a huge loss of crop due to infested plant crop. The yield loss in infested plants is estimated to be up to 60 percent of root and 100 percent of the leaves the root is the main source of food so this causes a huge problem for the crop yield. The results were a reduction in mealybug damage was seen in the first season following release in both the leaf and the root, and full control was typically achieved within 2–4 years (6) after and now after a decade (10 years) the cassava mealybug and the wasps lived in natural balance with the mealybug population down to a maximum of 10% of what they were 10 years ago at a peak of the infestation.(1) Now the cassava can grow with no or little dam age from the mealybug as the wasp has stopped the 60% root damage and the 100% of leaf destruction. Yield losses as reported by farmers are averaged at about 80% during the 1983 cassava mealybug outbreak but were reduced to 43% in 1979 pre infestation levels. (7) Implications Environmental- An environmental implication is that when the wasps are introduced to south America there was a risk that it could have a huge impact on the food chain as by taking away one organism or gaining one can have a knock on effect on others for example of the wasp was then hunted by a predator this could leave its normal pray to multiply therefore having an over population which in turn can then have knock on effects to their pray and so on and so on until extinction of a food source. Causing problems for South America in the economy and for the environment also. This environmental implication causes an imbalance of the natural balance of wildlife; this may have a knock on effect of the overall environmental surrounding and the effect on the human population. Economic For the farmers of Africa the economic impact has been useful and successful by increasing dramatically there yield percentage therefore increasing the money income. Every pound of investment in the mealybug project control work has returned between 200 and 500 pounds. These benefits to the environment from this environmental solution with no costs but a huge increase in crop harvest, obviously is a clear advantage economically to the farmers. By introducing the wasps there will be a series of tests that need to be run before can be realised for example testing the wasps to see if they were highly specific to the mealybug and whether they would cause destruction on other pests in the environment. The cost of setting up the project is costly especially as it is a longitudinal study so will have a large amount of money spent which will be spent over the years as has to be monitored over the years. Benefits to the humans There was a desperate need for something that could stop the crop destruction on the cassava plant and by finding the wasp that ate the mealybug which was destroying the crop made the crop loss decrease dramatically There was 80% of crop lost so with the help of the cassava mealybug project has gone down to 43 % (7) this a huge benefit for the locals economically it brings in more income for them and also more food, As is a large food source for the local people. The cassava plant is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropic area. The cassava is a major food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava. The cassava is a great source of carbohydrate for the people although it lacks in protein. Risks to the environment Although there is many reasons why there was a need for this biological control of the cassava mealybug, but there was also a huge risk of the environment being destroyed for example, if the wasp was not highly specific to the mealybug and caused a different crop to grow out of control this could also affect the natural balance of the environment resulting in and upset of the natural predators food source leading to disruption of habitat and extinction of some insects which will have a large effect on predators higher up the food chain. The wasp being introduced to the environment could have caused further damage on the environment destroying the local agriculture if it had effected another plant in the environment with could have caused further damage on the local economy and their food source. The food chain on the right shows how a small animal’s decrease of extinction would affect along the food chain resulting in effecting the highest food predator and can easily lead to extinction of this animal. Alternative solutions Pesticides can be used to control out breaks of mealybugs. It is not very easy to control, as the cassava mealybug is covered in hydrophobic wax which repels water-based insecticides therefore making it very difficult ton successfully irradiate the mealybug using this method of biological control. Also unless mealybugs are sprayed with the insecticide at certain times the treatment will not be effective. Firstly because mealybugs are protected from aqueous sprays by their wax coat and seek sheltered sites at certain points in which to feed, insecticides must be applied when mealybugs have least wax and are most exposed. This time is in early spring as the mealybugs will feed on the foliage and at this point the mealybugs are young and have not had enough time to produce the full thick layer of wax coating. And therefore this leaves the mealybug unprotected from the insecticide. There are also fewest leaves at this point so is harder for the, mealybug to hide from the insecticide resulting in a higher success rate. Insecticides applied after Christmas has limited effect, Once mealybugs have established there position on the plant (usually from mid-January onwards), they are virtually impossible to remove or control with insecticides at this stage therefore this means that there has to be a lot of research gone into discovering the perfect time to use the pesticide therefore costing a lot as is a longitudinal study and may vary from year to year. Genetic modification. Another possibility that is being looked into it genetic modification of plants, this was done by Dr Stanford. He was looking into crop improvement and saw the power of genetic selection and how there was limited changed possible using just selective breeding. He then became involved in plant genetic engineering research and showed that there were numerous genes which were potentially useful in crop plants but they were struggling to find a method for delivering these genes into the plant genome, there was no transformation technology(8) . Further research showed that shooting DNA into cells thereby penetrating cell walls and membranes. This was called the gene gun and it was able to transform early transgenic crops. This gene gun would be able to in theory change the genetic makeup of the cassava plant so that it could offer some sort of protection against predators. This would also have risks as you do not know how the modification will affect all of its predators and could therefo re have an effect on them so may cause harm in some way. Although there is less risk in destroying the natural environment as it is not causing other insects a problem. Conclusion In conclusion the biological control of the mealybug has had a huge effect and has caused the problem of the economy and environment to be resolved therefore keeping harmony between the organisms and the human population by keeping a natural balance between the small wasp and the mealybug. How to cite Biological Pest Control Case Study – the cassava mealybug, Free Case study samples