Rot, fruit flies not much bigger than the head of a pin, the eggs of 15 Rhode Island Reds and leavings from crushed grapes and olives all figured in award-winning research projects by 10 St. Helena High School students active in Future Farmers of America.

The students, all enrolled in the school’s college prep agriculture sciences classes, were recognized for their endeavors at the 81st annual national FFA convention held last month in Indianapolis, Ind. Their projects, which had earlier placed first in a state FFA competition, were selected for special recognition out of 363 Science Fair entries.

Heading the list were AJ Hansen and Kelcey Saldivar, who placed first and came home national champions for their study of fruit fly-infested olives and the effects of entomopathogenic nematodes.

The students worked with Harry Kaya, a UC Davis nematologist, to find a way to reduce or eradicate crop-threatening olive fruit flies.

Hansen and Saldivar discovered that introduction of the beneficial nematodes helped reduce the hatching rate of the fruit flies.

Placing second in the environmental sciences division were Cassy Crawford and Logan Santillano, who created a hillside erosion model and used it to compare the usefulness of mulches and cover crops in reducing or controlling hillside erosion in the hilly grape-growing regions of the Napa Valley. Their finding: Legume cover crops were more effective than traditional rice straw mulch or grass used locally.

In the engineering division, David Whalin and Liam Van Kuren’s creation of fire-starter logs made of either grape or olive pomace earned them third place and a silver medal. Although it appeared that the olive pomace made the most effective fire starter “logs,” Whalen said last week during a presentation to the St. Helena Unified School District Board, the two researchers will continue their study, but use a lighter hand when it comes to adding glycerin to the mix.

Amaury Avalos and Hadley Bickford had the noisiest project —15 of senior and FFA “superstar” Laura White’s Rhode Island Red hens, whose diet was supplemented by flax seed, noted for its high percentage of Omega-3 fatty acids. The desirable polyunsaturated fatty acids are capable of reducing serum cholesterol levels.

The team hit a rough patch early on when the chicks they had originally planned to use for the study turned out to be too immature to produce eggs. This is when White volunteered her flock of Rhode Island Reds for the project. The hens were fed a flax seed-enhanced mix and the collected eggs showed measurable amounts of the sought-after essential fatty acids. The team’s project placed fourth in the biochemistry division and the students earned a silver medal for their study.

(St. Helena High Ag department head Randy Mendes noted that White was one of 51 official delegates to the national convention, selected from California’s more than 6,100 FFA members.)

Another fourth place was earned for a study of grapes infected with Botrytis cinerea, or bunch rot, undertaken by Emily Lider and Marissa Moreno. The two worked with UC Extension specialist Dr. Doug Gubler and graduate students from UC Davis’ department of plant pathology. In their study, Lider and Moreno compared the effectiveness of a new biological control agent to three more commonly used biofungicide treatments. They found that of the three, one, called Pristine, appeared to be the most effective in preventing the fungus.

In addition to Agri-science Fair winners, four St. Helena High graduates were awarded American FFA degrees at the national convention. The degrees — which recognize outstanding agricultural experience as well as planning, managerial and financial expertise — are a mark of outstanding leadership and community involvement. This year’s recipients included Amber Hoffeld, Lailand Oberschulte, Mollie Salinger and Alicia Regusci.

On hand to see his granddaughter Alicia receive her award was Frank Emmolo, who has the distinction of being selected in 1952 as St. Helena’s first American FFA recipient.

During convention week students were also able to investigate possibilities in agriculture at a career fair and take field trips. Among the points of interest, Churchill Downs racecourse, the famed Louisville Slugger bat factory and an organic dairy farm, all in Louisville, Ky.

Medals and sightseeing aside, “The great part of the FFA convention was meeting new people,” said Omega-3 researcher Bickford. “It was a great experience.”

“I loved every single moment of the trip,” project partner Avalos added. “It will be a memory I will never forget.”