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Anonymous
dear /an/,

I know this is a long shot but I have a plant biology final, and I can't for the life of me think of how to approach this question.

"While driving along the Interstate in Indiana one day, you notice that all the plots of corn have a similar appearance. That is; the plants in the first row are always the shortest, then the second row is a little taller, the third row is still taller, but after the fourth row, all the plants are about the same height. What’s happened here and why? Hint: it’s not a fertilizer difference at the edge of the field, the seeds are the same, and there’s no irrigation difference. What could you do to reverse this in a field experiment? That is, make all the plants the same height (you’d probably have to start early in the season, before the plants were mature)."

any thoughts?
>> Anonymous
Because the corn field starts at the other end, and the corn rows facing you were planted last?
>> Anonymous
Pollution from the Interstate that's right there stunting plant growth on that side of the field?

Shot in the dark, but my best guess.
>> Anonymous
>>262427
Also quite logical, I'll include it in my general hypothesis. I know that if the nutrients aren't distributed evenly throughout the soil or if there is a temperature difference in between the time you plant each seed that the growth rate will be different but it seems like the temperature wouldn't change that drastically between the time it takes to seed a field? However, I don't really know how long it would take to seed an entire field. I am assuming its over the span of one day?
>> Anonymous
Maybe...

The plants on the edge of a field don't need to grow as tall as there is less competion to reach sunlight, plants in the middle grow taller however are limited by their max gentetic imposed height, thus the same size?
>> Anonymous
I have no idea if this is right, but my first thought was sunlight. If the interstate borders one side of the corn field, that makes a flat obstruction-less area just in front of the field. Were that side facing east or west, it would receive more sunlight as the sun rises or sets, hence, the rows behind would need to grow taller in order to get the same amount of required light. But this has a limit due to the fact you'd only need a certain angle of sunlight in order to hit the entire field.

As I said, no clue if that's anything, but it's the first thing which occured to me.