Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 44 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Workshop | 4 x 4 Hour Workshops |
| Field Trip | 6 x 4 Hour Field Trips |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Grassland planning assignment. | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | Crop protection plan. | 20% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module. | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module. | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Explain the mechanisms behind the major biotic constraints to crop productivity in the UK.
2. Describe the agronomic requirements of a range of non-cereal arable and forage crops.
3. Describe and critically analyse crop production systems.
4. Identify and evaluate appropriate crop protection strategies.
5. Describe plant breeding programmes and strategies and evaluate their past and future value to crop production systems.
Brief description
The module describes the basic agronomy of a range of selected UK arable and combinable break crops including potatoes, sugar beet, oilseed rape and field beans. Agronomic characteristics include rotation, soil type, sowing and plant establishment, nutrition, crop protection, harvesting and post-harvest storage. Contrasting systems approaches to crop and grassland production will be discussed and their effectiveness evaluated. Biotic constraints on production will focus on the impact of diseases, weeds and pests in arable crops, including mechanism and magnitude of yield losses, crop resistance, chemical and biological control, integrated crop management. Finally, the objectives and achievements of arable crop, grass and legume breeding will be reviewed. These lectures will include discussion of the variety development, registration, multiplication and certification procedures and the likely impact of advances in biotechnology on future crop production and management.
Content
- Crop rotation and rotation planning
- Integrated crop management
For grassland and forages
- Management systems ? production and environmental protection
- Grazing management
- Forage conservation
- Forage crops
For crop plants incl. oilseed rape, potatoes, sugar beet and field beans :
- Market requirements
- Varietal characteristics and end use
- Rotation, soil preparation and seed establishment
- Nutrition
- Plant protection ? weed, disease and pest control
- Harvesting and post-harvest treatment and storage
Crop protection
- Disease development and epidemiology
- Disease management strategies
- Pests and pest damage
- Pest management strategies
- Weed biology and competition
- Weed control
- Integrated crop protection
Plant breeding
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Students will write coursework in contrasting styles and formats. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | |
| Information Technology | |
| Personal Development and Career planning | |
| Problem solving | Students will draw up a crop protection programme for a given set of conditions |
| Research skills | Students will research material beyond the scope of the lecture material for both components of coursework |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5