| Department of Agriculture and Ecology
81 % Department of Basic Science and Environment 19 % | |||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | BSc. 3 year to MSc. 1 year | ||||||||||||
| Duration | Two blocks | ||||||||||||
| Credits | 15 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||
| Course Level | Joint BSc and MSc | ||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination Written Exam in Lecturehall All aids allowed Description of Examination: 4 hour written exam with 4 main questions broadly covering subjects from lectures and exercises Weight: 25% to each of the four main questions, summing up to 100% 7-point scale, internal examiner Dates of Exam: 22 January 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Requirement For Attending Exam | Approval of 75% of exercises | ||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | Combination of lectures and theoretical exercises, possibly with some teaching periods at KVL-Taastrup | ||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: B Block 2 Week Structure: B | ||||||||||||
| Teaching Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | 250021 Soil, Water and Plants or similar basic course covering chemical, physical and biological conditions and processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system | ||||||||||||
| Restrictions | None | ||||||||||||
| Course Contents | |||||||||||||
| The course focuses on capacity development in core discipline areas while being interdisciplinary by integrating several disciplines in a holistic analysis of the biological, chemical and physical characteristics and processes in tropical soil-plant-atmosphere systems of relevance for crop production. The course is divided in three major phases: i. Introduction: tropical agriculture and natural resources management, constraints and opportunities, and development issues; tropical climate; agro-ecosystems and farming systems; case studies. ii. Fundamentals: soils and environmental chemistry; agrohydrology and bioclimatology; soil fertility; plant nutrition; crops. iii. Management, applications and integration within selected agro-ecosystems and farming systems including: land and water management design principles and practices (tillage; irrigation and drainage; sloping land management; water harvesting; integrated watershed development and management); nutrient cycling, an outline of fertilizers and fertilization, and integrated nutrition of selected crops; weed control; selected crops, cropping systems, post-harvest technology and breeding; environmental protection. | |||||||||||||
| Teaching And Learning Methods | |||||||||||||
| The course combines lectures and theoretical exercises with individual and group work. Integration across disciplines is enhanced by addressing the same typology and set of agro-ecosystems, farming systems and crops in all course elements, and by using a common dataset with comprehensive case studies as the basis for all exercises where possible. The selected agro-ecosystems, farming systems and crops include inter alia: humid, semi-arid and highland zones; maize, wheat and wetland rice based cropping systems; rainfed and irrigated conditions; and sloping lands. | |||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||
| The course aims at providing students, having a BSc-level background in fundamental agricultural sciences or equivalent, a comprehensive understanding of soil, water, and plant nutrient characteristics and processes and crop production in tropical rainfed and irrigated agro-ecosystems, including both low and high potential areas. Focus is on bio-physical related production constraints and opportunities in small-scale farming systems, within the context of poverty alleviation and sustainable land use. The course is intended to contribute to knowledge-based development, targetting mainly first year MSc students and/or third year BSc students who wish to specialise in agricultural development and natural resources management in tropical / developing countries. Upon completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to: Knowledge: - Describe qualitatively and quantitatively the main processes and characteristics of soil, water and crop production in important agro-ecosystems of the tropics and sub-tropics - Describe the interaction between soil, climate and plant factors and their influence on crop production Skills: - Identify, analyse and evaluate biophysical potentials, limitations, opportunities and constraints in specific locations and production systems - Assess agricultural water management systems (rainfed, irrigation, waterharvesting, drainage) using basic design and management principles and guidelines - Analyse and quantify nutrient flows in agro-ecosystems and assess constraints for plant production. - Analyse basic pedological and chemical information on tropical soils and soil fertility implications - Assess cropping systems including the role of weeds and crop management practices - Assess natural resources vulnerability and environmental implications Competencies: - discuss the relationship between agriculture, environment and sustainable development | |||||||||||||
| Course Litterature | |||||||||||||
| Collection of selected texts and exercises (details to be announced) | |||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||
| Jens Raunsø Jensen, jrj@life.ku.dk, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment/Agrohydrology, Phone: 35333387 Ole Kragholm Borggaard, okb@life.ku.dk, Department of Natural Sciences/Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Phone: 35332419 Jørgen Lindskrog Christiansen, jlc@life.ku.dk, Department of Agricultural Sciences/Crop Science, Phone: 35333452 Jens Carl Streibig, jcs@life.ku.dk, Department of Agricultural Sciences/Crop Science, Phone: 35333457 Andreas de Neergaard, adn@life.ku.dk, Department of Agricultural Sciences/Plant and Soil Science, Phone: 35333499 | |||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||
| Course Scope | |||||||||||||
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