Sanger, California
Age 14 at the time of innovation.
Achievement: Used a bitter melon seed as an organic insecticide
Have you ever noticed little flies around fruit in your kitchen? These fruit flies can cause extensive damage to the crops we grow. Talie decided to investigate whether seeds from a bitter melon called Momordica charantia could help farmers manage fruit flies and other pests that damage their crops.
Talie exposed fruit flies—Drosophila melanogaster—to the bitter melon seed to see if it influenced their reproduction rates. She tested four generations of the flies. What she found was while the bitter melon concentration within the Drosophila medium increased, the reproduction rate of the flies significantly decreased when compared to a control group.
Talie’s investigation shows that the bitter fruit seed can be used as a cost-efficient and effective organic agricultural insecticide to help protect crops.
Watch Talie’s featured news story here: