Three schoolgirls in Kinsale pulled up a pea plant covered in warts (2016)

Three Irish girls discovered that soaking barley, oats, and wheat seeds in rhizobium cultures increased germination rates by up to 50% and dry mass by up to 74%. Their 13,000-seed experiment, conducted over three years, showed that the bacteria, though not forming nodules, accelerated seedling growth and improved early vigor. The study won the BT Young Scientist of the Year (2013) and the Google Science Fair grand prize (2014).