Get those nematodes!
Mr. X, president of PRODUCT X Company, said that the ingredient that retarded the nematode population was actually the oil in the fish emulsion....
We decided to try both methods and outlined an experiment for our home garden. We bought a gallon each of PRODUCT X, fish emulsion and corn oil.
Then we divided the garden into two equal parts. We applied PRODUCT X and fish emulsion to Plot #1...
The same procedure was used on Plot #2, excepth that an equal volume of corn oil was substituted for the fish emulsion...
The results were remarkable. Nematode damage was dramatically reduced, and as a result, our garden was the best ever..."
(from a book edited by a popular magazine devoted to organic gardening)
Basic elements of experiments designed to demonstrate activity of nematicides will be covered in another unit.
However, anyone who has had some involvement with the scientific method, which would include many elementary school students in California who have participated in science fairs, should be able to ascertain at least two basic flaws in this experiment. The lack of replication of the two treatments and the lack of an untreated control make it impossible to determine the effectiveness of the treatments.