Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Noe Iwasaki ’26
UNDECLARED
PROJECT TITLE
Exploring Natural
Variation of Seed Oil
Content in Okra
(Abelmoschus esculentus)
for Climate-resilient
Agriculture
ORGANIZATION(S)
Conway Lab,
Department of
Chemical and Biological
Engineering, Princeton
University
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Jonathan Conway,
Assistant Professor of
Chemical and Biological
Engineering
Okra is extremely drought tolerant and grows in
hot climates; thus, it would be a suitable crop for
adapting to a changing climate and higher global
temperatures. It also yields a large amount of oil
per hectare and could be used as a market-viable
cooking oil. I worked at the Stony Ford Seed Farm
to grow okra plants in preparation for further
research that will measure and characterize okra
seed oil. The information gleaned from this study
will inform future efforts to selectively breed
okra varieties for greater seed oil content. Our
team planted approximately 2,000 genetically
distinct okra plants at the Seed Farm. I assisted
in weeding, pruning and individually labeling
each okra plant. I also bagged the okra flowers
to ensure that the okra were self-pollinated and
not crossed with other okra varieties. Though
my focus was on the okra project, I also had
the opportunity to work with other researchers
at the Seed Farm on their projects. Through
my experience, I learned a great deal about
environmentally friendly farming practices and
the work it takes to sustain a farm.
FOOD SYSTEMS
AND HEALTH
57