HORTICULTURE 514
HORTICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
Syllabus Spring 2007
Course Description: A graduate course in current fruit, vegetable and ornamental production techniques.
Lectures: Meet in room 118 Agriculture Building
Instructor: Dr. Dave Creech, 936-468-4343, Office: Rm 118B, Agriculture Bldg, EMAIL: dcreech@sfasu.edu
Website: URL to be announced via your mysfa account.
Textbook and Required reading: No textbook; course will be web-assisted, handouts, lecture notes, field trip.
Objective: At the completion of this course, students will have a working appreciation of the basic principles of modern fruit, vegetable and ornamental production in the South.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
January 18. 2007 - 7:00 PM LES REEVES LECTURE SERIES - “Great plants can come from the Great Plains!” - Steve Bieberich - Rt. 1 Box 4030 - Clinton, OK 73601. Students also receive this syllabus at the lecture series - description of topics covered - grading procedure discussed - paper and presentation described -
January 25, 2007 - Horticulture in a Changing World - Trends - population - food groups - threats - firewood - biomass meltdown. Global view. Foreign aid, global food situation, slide presentation on horticulture in Guatemala, Pakistan, Nepal, and China. Discuss the history and current status of the land-grant system - information transfer, history of agricultural research and predictions for the future. Place of Horticulture, trends, opportunities, challenges. Slide presentation – lecture - handouts.
February 1, 2007 - Pruning and Training . . . systems, timing, planting densities, crops, techniques, influence on fruit production – slide presentation – lecture - handouts
February 8, 2005 - Water - sprinkler, drip irrigation, micro irrigation, plant water use, water conservation strategies, fertigation. Slide presentation - lecture
February 15, 2007 - 7:00 PM LES REEVES LECTURE SERIES - Mary Pickens, Southern Garden Historian, Columbus, Tx - “Taking all the right paths to that perfect garden” - gravel@wcnet.net
February 22, 2007 – Pests - pest management history - chemical controls - safety and handling - toxicity - biological controls - IPM - trends - legal aspects - status of Q-37, right-to-know, future challenges to pest management, invasive plants. Slide presentation – lecture. Pest control.
Mar 1, 2007 – Plant propagation primer - general approaches and considerations. Sexual and asexual propagation. Seed, cuttings, grafting, tissue culture. Tips, tricks and magic. Challenging but promising plants. Economic realities. Hands on grafting lab.
March 8, 2007 – Mid-semester exam
March 10 – 18, 2007 – SPRING BREAK
March 15, 2007 – I know this is spring break but there’s still our 7:00 PM LES REEVES LECTURE SERIES! Steve Dobbs, Plant Operations Director and Landscape Coordinator University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, Arkansas - “Landscape Like a Pro!” Are you in control of your landscape or does it control you? Get helpful tips on design and plant selection to make your landscape easier to maintain and enjoy. -
March 22, 2007 - Substrates and plant nutrition in the 1990’s. History. Plant growth and development. Dealing with macro and micronutrient deficiency and toxicity - Role of soil/leaf/water analysis. Interpretation of analytical results and relating that to plant performance.
March 29, 2007 – Fertility for Horticultural crops. Soils, soil/leaf/water analyses and what they mean. Plant adaptation - climatic, edaphic and biotic considerations - optimizing the root environment - factors affecting establishment - questions that need answering - invasive plants - germplasm repositories - endangered species - role of the nursery industry.
April 5, 2007 - Ornamental horticulture - economic trends – nursery technology – status of the industry – strategies and trends - gardening predictions - new plants - plant patents - introduction programs - challenges and threats to the industry.
April 12, 2007 - replaced with a field trip on Friday April 13 . . to a large nursery operation. Leave early, back late.
April 19, 2007 - 7:00 PM LES REEVES LECTURE SERIES - Steven Chamblee, Chandor Gardens, Weatherford, Texas - “White Shadows, Twin Dragons, & a really Mad Hatter: Discovering the Beauty & Mystery of Chandor Gardens." - schamblee@ci.weatherford.tx.us
April 26, 2007 - Office management, organization, work place, personnel management, skills of the CEO, philosophy of life
May 3, 2007 - Presentation by students – 15 minutes each. Powerpoint plus paper.
May 7-11, 2007 - Final exam as scheduled
Grades: Mid-semester Exam 30%
Powerpoint presentation 15%
Research paper 15%
Final Exam 30%
Participation/Attendance 10%