Undergraduate Course: Crop Physiology and Agronomy (VETS10044)
Course Outline
| School | Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course provides an understanding of the principles of crop physiology and the skills required to analyse crop growth and yield in terms of resource capture and utilisation. These skills will enable students to identify limitations to yield and resource use efficiency and opportunities for growers and plant breeders to overcome them. |
| Course description |
The aims of the course are to develop an understanding of the physiological basis of crop growth and yield formation and to apply that understanding to decision making in agronomy and crop breeding. Using selected temperate and tropical crops as examples, growth and yield will be quantified in terms of the capture and utilisation of solar radiation, water and mineral nutrients. The following themes will be covered:
- Concepts of yield potential, water-limited yield potential and yield gaps.
- Radiation interception, radiation use efficiency and biomass partitioning.
- Source-sink relations in crop growth and yield formation.
- Crop responses to the availability of water and nutrients.
- Crop management options for increasing efficiency of resource capture and utilisation.
- Targets for improvement of resource capture and utilisation through crop breeding.
This course will be delivered by a series of lectures, tutorials, field visits and practicals.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the concepts of yield potential and yield gaps
- Analyse variation in yield in terms of crop radiation interception, utilisation and biomass partitioning
- Explain the effects of water and nutrient availability on the physiological processes determining yield formation
- Apply understanding of crop physiology to define appropriate management strategies for given production scenarios
- Identify target traits to improve crop resource use efficiency through crop breeding
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Ian Bingham
Tel:
Email: ian.bingham@sruc.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Gordon Littlejohn
Tel:
Email: Gordon.Littlejohn@ed.ac.uk |
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