Botany and Cropping Systems

The agro-ecosystem Plant and climate: effects of meteorological variables (solar radiation, temperature, precipitation, wind, relative humidity) on crop production.. Thermal time. Response to day length.
Water, soil and plants. Chemical, physical, biological and hydrological properties of the soil. Particle size distribution and particle aggregation. Bulk density. Hydrological characteristics. Water consumption and use: reference evapotranspiration, crop evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration. Dynamics of water uptake and water use efficiency.
Crop management ant their scientific basis Crop fertilization techniques. The requirement of nutritional elements, macro and micro nutrients. Dynamics of nutrients in soil. Type of fertilizers (Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer) and their use. Organic fertilization, slurry and manure characteristics and usage. pH correction and improvement of physical characteristics of soil. Irrigation principles and techniques. The soil water balance and the determination of crop water requirements. Irrigation system: surface and rain systems. Cropping system and crop rotation. Intensive, extensive and organic agriculture systems. Weeds control. Weed management using agronomic, chemical, mechanical biological and physical approach. Herbicides main category, distribution, selectivity and persistence.

Practical applications
Practical part Microscope observation of cell structure in plant. Microscope observation of plant tissues and organs.
Application of the acquired knowledge to maize crop: crop management plan, including irrigation, fertilization and weeding.

Characteristics of the plant cell. Plant cell growth: multiplication and enlargement. Cell membranes in plant cells. The cell wall: structure and functions. Changes in the cell wall during cell differentiation: the middle lamella, the primary wall, the secondary wall, peculiar modifications. Compartmentalization in plant cells: developments and morpho-physiological function of the vacuole. The tonoplast. Storage of different compounds in the vacuoles. Plastids: genesis and differentiation: proplastids, amyloplasts, chromoplasts and chloroplasts. Water, solutes and cells. The chemical potential of water. The solute potential and osmoregulation. Cell movements. The pressure potential.
Structural organization of plants: general organization of plants and growth.
Reproduction in plants. generalities, vegetative reproduction, sexual reproduction: metagenetic life cycles of plants.
Cell Differentiation. Plant tissues. Plant organs. General organization of vascular plants. Development and anatomy roots, stems and leaves. Special modifications of plant organs and tissues as a source of food and industry products.

Crop systems: strategies for crop management in field, greenhouse and growth chambers. Ecophysiology of crops in protected environment and regulation of plant growth and yield.
Hydroponics growing systems: description of hydroponic systems used and different types such as floating system, Nutrient Film Techniques (NFT), aeroponics, ebb and flow. Tools and automation of hydroponic cultivations. Substrates and their physical and chemical properties. Descritpion of substrate and plant interactions.
Managament of nutrient solutions: description of the different strategies used for nutrient solutions management in closed and open hydroponic systems. Chemistry and calculation behind the preparation of nutrient solutions. Importance of nutrient solution physical-chemical properties on plant nutrients uptake. Sterilization systems of nutrient solutions in the closed systems.