Agricultural Chemistry

Aminoacids and proteins. Protein structures. Principles of bioenergetics and thermodynamics. Enthropy and free energy. Exo- and endo-ergonic reactions; energetically coupled reactions. ATP and phosphor group transfer. Redox reactions. Relationship between deltaE and deltaG. Kinetics of enzymatic catalysis. Michaelis-Menten's equation. Inhibition and regulation of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Carbon metabolism. Glycolysis and fermentation. Energy yield of glycolysis. The TCA cycle. Electron flux and oxidative phosphorylation. Mitchell's chemiosmosis theory. Energy yield of respiration. The pentose-P pathway. The glyoxylate cycle. Biosynthesis and degradation of starch and polysaccharides. Photosynthesis. The electromagnetic spectrum. PAR. Absorption and action spectra. Photosynthetic pigments. Photosystems, light-harvesting complexes, reaction centers. The Z scheme. Photophosphorylation. C3 and C4 cycles, CAM metabolism. Photorespiration. Ecophysiology of photosynthesis. Plants and water. The water potential Plasmolysis, cell turgor. Expansion growth. The soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Water absorption by roots: the apoplastic and symplastic pathways. Transpiration. The lift of the xylem sap in the xylem. Loss of water through the stomata, regulation of stomata opening. Solute transport in plant cells. Chemical and electrochemical potentials. Diffusion, active and passive transport. The Nernsts' equation. Carriers and ion channels. Role of the PM H+-ATPase in secondary active transport. Translocation in the phloem. Osmotically-generated pressure flow. Role of active transport of H+ in sucrose loading and unloading. "Sinks" and "sources" Mineral nutrition. Plant nutrient requirements. Nutrient availability and plant growth. Plant growth regulators. Description of a few physiological effects.

The course introduces what soil is and which is its role in plant growth. Course will consider the different soil constituents and their role in defining soil fertility. Soil fertility will be explores by setting soil parameters able to describe both chemical and biological soil fertility. In the last soil, analysis will be considered as tool able to describe soil fertility and manage soil vs. plant growth.