Fundamentals of General and Agricultural Chemistry

The course offers to the students fundamental knowledge in the chemical language. The relationships between the structure of matter, its macroscopic properties and the transformations associated with it will be explored.
The concepts of general chemistry will be extended to soil chemistry, with the aim of providing in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of the soil and its main functions, both agronomic and environmental.
The biochemical and physiological processes that regulate soil-plant interaction and mineral nutrition will be covered. The course aims to prepare students to understand the processes related to fertilization techniques and to identify and resolve biochemical and physiological disorders resulting from nutritional deficiencies. Workshops for practical and applied training will be included.

Students will be able to understand General and Inorganic Chemistry, recognize the formulas of chemical compounds and their main chemical-physical properties as well as acid-base and redox behavior. They will acquire knowledge relating to the classification of organic compounds and the ability to understand the relationships between chemical formula, three-dimensional structure and chemical-physical properties of organic molecules. Furthermore, basic knowledge of general chemistry will allow students to understand the chemical, physical and biological aspects of soil in relation to the needs of plants. This will, at the same time, allow us to understand the biochemical and physiological processes that regulate mineral nutrition in the soil-plant system and concepts such as absorption, translocation and assimilation of nutrients. The skills acquired are aimed at providing skills aimed at maximizing the yields and quality of agricultural production, while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact of agricultural practices.