Crop plants and their classification, growth, reproduction, and responses to environmental and biological factors. Students will examine how different management practices influence yield.
Athena Title
Crop Science
Prerequisite
BIOL 1103 or BIOL 1103E or BIOL 2103H or BIOL 2103S or BIOL 1107 or BIOL 1107E or BIOL 2107H or PBIO 1210 or permission of department
Corequisite
CRSS 2010L
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
After completing this course, students should be able to explain how plants acquire the resources (e.g., sunlight, carbon, water, nutrients, etc.) needed for plant growth and reproduction.
After completing this course, students should be able to compare how various plants respond to different abiotic and biotic factors.
After completing this course, students should be able to predict how different agronomic practices affect crop yield and quality.
Topical Outline
Importance of plants
5 adaptations that led to modern day flowering plants
Ways plants are classified
Structure and function: meristems, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, reproduction, seeds
Chlorophyll and carotenoids
Photosynthesis: light dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle
Photorespiration
C3, C4 and CAM plants
Transpiration and water use efficiency
Climate change
Soil properties: color, composition, texture, horizons, organic matter, organisms
Essential Elements for Plant Growth: Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients
Nutrient Mobility in Plants
Soil Fertility/Soil Chemistry
Factors Affecting Nutrient Availability and Preventing & Correcting Nutrient Deficiencies
Fertilizers and application methods
Introduction to Cropping Systems: sequences, patterns, types of intercropping
Specialized Cropping Systems: Agroforestry, Conservation Plantings
Comparison of Tillage Practices
Crop Establishment, Environmental Factors Affecting Germination, Seeding Equipment
Environmental stresses: temperature, salinity, drought, waterlogging
Weed, pest and disease management
Irrigation and erosion control
General Education Core
CORE II: Life Sciences
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
