Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Field Trip | 11 x 3 Hour Field Trips |
| Lecture | 11 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Practical | 5 x 3 Hour Practicals |
| Lecture | 22 x 2 Hour Lectures |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Cereal crop report. | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | Cereal oral presentation. | 5% |
| Semester Assessment | Pasture management report. | 35% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours Short-answer question paper. | 30% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module. | 70% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module. | 30% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Describe the importance of grassland, forages, cereals and non-cereal arable crops in UK and world agriculture
2. Identify and describe the characteristics of common crop and herbage species
3. Identify the factors associated with the physical and financial performance of crops
4. Discuss the need for and recommend planned cropping programmes.
5. Identify the influence of management and environment on pasture composition and plan a programme of pasture management for a range of end uses
6. Describe the requirements of cereal and forage systems and the crop market and identify varietal characteristics which meet demands
7. Plan, evaluate and implement a cereal and forage crop's manurial and crop protection requirements with due regard to their potential impact on the environment
8. Appraise the husbandry, harvesting and storage of cereal crops
Brief description
Through an integrated programme of lectures, demonstrations, practical sessions and visits, students will be made aware of the precise management requirements of agricultural grassland and cereal crops as well as the factors that underpin a range of cropping strategies. Impact of these strategies on fundamental growth processes will be considered.
Content
For grasses:
Influence of geographical distribution and growing environment on pasture composition and productivity.
Identification of grass and forage species through the assessment of vegetative and reproductive structures.
Manipulation of botanical composition and production through management strategies.
Fertilizer and manure management.
For cereals:
(here much of the learning will be developed in tandem with individual students' monitoring and management of a winter sown cereal in the field)
Varietal characteristics and selection.
Seed quality and factors affecting germination and seedling emergence.
Plant structure and crop development, measurement of crop growth characteristics.
Photosynthetic efficiency and radiation interception
Crop protection ? weeds, pests, diseases
Crop fertilizer requirements.
Interaction of soil characteristics and crop growth processes; drainage, soil cultivations, soil nutrient management.
Harvesting and marketing
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Students will have to calculate seed rates, plant populations, nutrient requirements and fertilizer / manure and crop protection chemical application rates. Gross margins will be produced. |
| Communication | Both the Cereal and Grassland assignments will require the production of a written report in an appropriate format. The Cereal assignment will include an oral presentation at the module’s mid-point |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | |
| Information Technology | Internet sources will be utilized routinely, in association with published information, in the preparation of the assessed work. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | |
| Problem solving | Both the Cereal assignment and the Grassland assignment will involve the identification of problems associated with the growth of plants in the field and the development of a subsequent management strategy in response to that problem. |
| Research skills | |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | Students will work on the Cereal Assignment in pairs and will make a joint oral presentation. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4