Course ID: | PATH(ENTO) 4360/6360. 3 hours. |
Course Title: | Ornamental Pest Management |
Course Description: | Introduction to pest management on ornamental crops grown in greenhouses and nurseries, with emphasis on insects and diseases. Emphasis on production practices and their influence on pest population development. Scouting, integrated pest management, chemical pesticides, and pest identification will be covered. |
Oasis Title: | Ornamental Pest Management |
Nontraditional Format: | This course will be in traditional lecture format, with an occasional field trip to visit local nurseries and/or greenhouses. |
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite: | PATH 3530-3530L |
Graduate Pre or Corequisite: | PATH 3530-3530L |
Semester Course Offered: | Offered fall semester every even-numbered year. |
Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
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Course Objectives: | The main objective of this course is to provide students with a
basic understanding of pest management on ornamental crops. The
course is intended to provide knowledge of disease, insect, and
weed identification; scouting; pest sampling; and cultural,
physical, biological, and chemical control options currently
available to pest control managers involved in greenhouse and
nursery production. In addition, ornamental production practices
such as container selection, propagation, structures, irrigation,
and plant placement and how they influence pest population
development will be covered. By the end of the semester, students
will be expected to develop pest control guides that will then be
distributed to all students for future reference. Students will
be expected to solve pest management problems by correctly
identifying pests and providing realistic control recommendations.
Students will be graded on their written pest control guide,
3-hourly exams throughout the semester, and a cumulative final.
This course will better prepare Plant Protection and Pest
Management (Plant Pathology), Entomology, and Horticulture
undergraduate and graduate students for employment as pest
managers or consultants within the ornamental industry. |
Topical Outline: | Introduction, objectives, assignments
Entomology review, external anatomy, physiology, life cycles
Identification and biology of important pests, mites
Important pests – catepillars, borers, leaf beetles
Important pests – thrips, leafminers, gall makers
Important pests – scale, sucking bugs (leaf hoppers, etc.)
Important pests – whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs
Plant Pathology review, disease triangle, pathogen groups
Root rot diseases
Fungal leaf spot diseases, anthracnose
Powdery mildew, downy mildew, rusts
Bacterial leaf spots, blights
Viruses, Nematodes
Introduction to IPM/ICM, concepts, philosophy
Insect IPM sampling tools, use, scouting
Introduction to pest control guides
Resistant varieties, threshold/aesthetic levels, indicators/traps
Sanitation, disinfection
Production considerations, pot size, media components
Irrigation timing/pattern, recycled irrigation water treatment
Propagation, inspection/quarantine
Weed Identification
Weed Management
Pesticide safety, record keeping, WPS
Pesticide storage, facilities design, pesticide stewardship
Insecticides, modes of action, resistance management
Insecticides, selectivity for beneficials, pesticide rebound
Fungicides, modes of action, types
Fungicides, resistance management, biological control
Pest Case Study: Azalea - Insects
Pest Case Study: Azalea - Diseases
Pest Case Study: Poinsettia – Insects
Pest Case Study: Poinsettia –Disease
NOTE: The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviation
announced to the class may be necessary |
Honor Code Reference: | All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.”
Each student is responsible to inform themselves about those standards before
performing any academic work. |