15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours Labs 45 hours) Concepts of soil fertility and productivity; Factors affecting soil fertility; Soil physical conditions in relation to soil fertility; Soil fertility evaluation - methods employed; Nutrient deficiency symptoms; Plant analysis and total analysis; DRIS indices; Field experimentation; Microbiological tests; Soil Testing; Farm manure, significance; Storage, treatment and management of animal manure; Long term effects of manure; Urban and industrial wastes; Composts; The Fertiliser elements; Fertiliser analysis, mixed fertiliser; Soil testing and fertiliser recommendations; Some rules of commercial fertiliser use; Manufacture of some common fertilisers; Storage, method of application and fate of urea, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate; Fate of phosphatic fertilisers in soil; Developments in fertiliser manufacture; Fertiliser use and farm income; Maximum yield and maximum economic yield; Plant nutrients as part of increasing land value; Fertiliser efficiency use and factors affecting it; Importance of interactions; Explaining interactions; Building Maximum - Yield Systems.
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Genetic factors affecting plant growth; Growth expressions; Yield increase in response to more than one growth factor; Elemental composition of plants; Essential elements in plant nutrition; Nitrogen of plants; Sulphur nutrition of plants; Phosphorous nutrition of plants; K nutrition of plants; Ca and Mg nutrition of plant; Micronutrient elements in plant nutrition; Characteristics and functions of roots; Factors affecting root growth and development; Nutrient accumulation and deficiency; Movement of ions from soils to roots; Complementary ion effect; Nutrient mobility in soil; Ion uptake by plants; Relationships between added fertiliser, plant nutrient level and plant yield; Nutrient availability and soil pH; Improving plant's nutrient efficiency; Plant nutrient level determination; Tissue analysis interpretations; Crop logging systems. University of Guyana-Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Home Page
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Hydrological cycle; Watershed management; Soil erosion and conservation schemes; Water and wind erosion; Management of losses of soil, water and nutrients due to erosion; Agronomic methods of erosion control; Soil Conservation practices; Principles of water conservation; Water storage structures; Water harvesting and small scale irrigation; Drainage techniques; Success and/or failure of soil and water management techniques practised in Guyana. Practicals Field trips to major water management schemes in Guyana, to various irrigation systems (e.g, sugar and rice) and to Drainage "Pumping" Stations along the coast should be arranged.
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Soil as a habitat for micro-organisms; Techniques in culturing soil micro-organisms; Micro-organisms and soil enzymes; Decomposition processes and nutrient cycling; Rhizosphere interactions (asymbiotic micro-organisms and plants); Infections of plant roots (symbiote and pathogens); Plant growth regulators and phytotoxins from micro-organisms; Effects of soil amendments; Micro-organisms in agricultural systems; Treatment and management of soil micro-organisms. Practicals Laboratory practicals will be carried out in order to support the theoretical aspects of the course. Field trips should be scheduled to various production sites.
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Soil-ion interactions; Soil and plant composition; Ion-water interactions; Solute-solute interactions; Solubility product, soil reaction coefficients; Crystal chemistry of silicates; Layer silicate structures; Kaolins; Smectites; Vermiculites; Micas; Chlorites; Accessory minerals; Soil organic matter; Charge development in soils; Rates of weathering and soil development; Cation exchange; Cation exchange equations; Anion exchange; Adsorption isotherms; Classification and determination of soil acidity; Lime requirement; Origin of Salt affected soils; Categories of salt affected soils; Irrigation water quality; Oxidation and reduction in soils; Flooded soils; Major exchangeable cations; Major anions.
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Uses of soil and land-use survey; Classes of surveys and techniques used; Use of Remote Sensing (aerial photography, Landform) and soil maps; Interpretative use of soil survey data; Writing soil survey reports; Use of computers and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in soil surveys; Historical soil classification system; Genetic soil classification system; Genetic soil classification system; Morphological classification system; USDA Taxonomy; Similarities and differences between USDA Soil Taxonomy and that of England and Wales. Practicals Field trips will be made to the survey sites on a regular basis.
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Important soil classes in Guyana and the Caribbean; Nature and properties of important soil classes in Guyana and the Caribbean; Management of important soil classes in Guyana and the Caribbean; Distribution of Acid Sulfate soils; Reclamation and management of Acid Sulphate soils; Distribution of Sodic soils; Reclamation and management of Sodic soils; Distribution of Saline soils; Reclamation and management of Saline soils; Distribution, reclamation and management of Saline-Sodic soils; Distribution and management of Organic soils. Practicals Field trips will be made to various problem soil sites. University of Guyana-Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Home Page
15 weeks (Lectures 45 hours, Labs 45 hours) Types of chemicals added to the soil; Classification
and mode of action of pesticides; Interaction with unchanged polar organic compounds;
Adsorption from aqueous solution; Complexes with amines; Complexes amicles; Complexes with
cationic pesticides; Complexes with amino acids and proteins; Interactions with positively
charged organic species; Some properties of cationic complexes; Organic reactions
catalysed by clay minerals; Transformation and decomposition reactions; Adsorption and
reactions of phenolic compounds; Desorption of phenolic compounds; Volatilisation of
pesticides from soil; Organic chemical movement over soil; Movement of volatile organic
chemicals in soils; Movement of organic chemicals through landfill and hazardous waste
disposal sites; Groundwater monitoring; Chemistry of heavy metals in soils. University of Guyana-Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Home Page |
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