Week |
Date |
Unit |
Topic |
Week 1 |
March 31 |
1 |
• Global food security
• Early agriculture and development
• Impact of crop production on society and the environment |
April 2 |
2 |
• Basic genetic concepts
• Origin of genetic diversity
– Darwin, natural selection and evolution
• Morphological
and genetic changes during crop domestication |
Week 2 |
April
7 |
3 |
• Vavilov, centers of origin, spread of crops
•
Environmental factors that affect plant growth
• Biomes
and ecoregions
• Crop adaptation – C3 vs C4 plants,
photoperiod, pollination controls |
April
9 |
4 |
• Classification of plants
• Types of food crops
and their contribution to human nutrition
• Production and
geographic distribution of important food crops
• World
food needs |
Week 3 |
April
14 |
5 |
• Basic plant breeding concepts – gene pools, selection
theory
• Genetic vulnerability – impact of monoculture
• Genetic resources and conservation
• Intellectual
property and ownership – plant variety protection;
plant patenting, partnerships, impact of biotechnology, ethical issues |
April
16 |
6 |
• Modern cultivar development – role of public and private
agencies
• International agricultural research centers
• The Green Revolution and post Green Revolution crop improvement
strategies
• Contributions of biotechnology and ag. chemical
companies |
Week 4 |
April
21 |
7 |
Wheat – see list of topics for each major
crop below†
Focus: Role of polyploidy in evolution;
end-use quality |
April
23 |
8 |
Rice
Focus: Agroecologies and plant pathology
issues |
Week 5 |
April 28 |
9 |
Barley, Oats, Rye
Focus: Malting and brewing |
April 30 |
10 |
Soybean, dry beans, groundnut, and other pulses
Focus: Nitrogen fixation; diverse end-uses; nutritional benefits |
Week 6 |
May
5 |
11 |
Maize
Focus: Tropical production issues;
hybrid corn industry |
May
7 |
12 |
Sorghum, millet
Focus: Adaptation to drought
and heat stress |
Week 7 |
May
12 |
13 |
Sugar cane, sugar beets
Focus: Industrial
processing |
May
14 |
14 |
Oil crops – oil palm, cottonseed, rapeseed, and sunflower
Focus: Oil composition and processing |
Week 8 |
May
19 |
15 |
Potato
Focus: Propagation issues; processing
and quality |
May
21 |
16 |
Tropical root and tuber crops - cassava, sweet potato, and
yams
Focus: Subsistence agriculture |
Week 9 |
May
26 |
17 |
Tomato, cabbage, and other vegetable crops
Focus: Crop evolution; genetic resources |
Week 10 |
June
2 |
18 |
• Food security – potential impact of population growth,
climate change, and government policy
• Sustainability of
crop production systems
• Strategies for increasing food
security
• Promise and controversy of biotechnology |
Week 11 |
TBA |
|
Final Exam |
