72659 - Vegetable Crops

Learning outcomes

The course will provide knowledge on physiology, cultural methods and on improvement of yield and quality of vegetables grown in open field and greenhouse; with an extensive overview of sustainable cropping systems; using tomato as model crop.

Course contents

The course is structured into 3 Teaching Units (TU), namely:

TU1. Introduction to vegetable crops (Face-To-Face, 12 hours).

General course introduction. Introduction to sustainable vegetable crop production. Population trends and food security. Current status of agricultural production. Introduction to sustainable agriculture. Evolution of current agricultural production and sustainable approaches to crop production. Differences between North and South of the world. Definition of agroecology. Low input agriculture. Distribution at world level and case studies from different world regions. The Mediterranean vegetable crop production sector. Introduction to greenhouse systems and typologies. Environmental assessment of vegetable crop systems.

TU2. Vegetable crop production (Face-To-Face, 6 hours).

Tomato as a model vegetable crop. Origin, domestication and current diffusion, plant growth and phenology, cultivation in open air and in greenhouse, crop management, abiotic and biotic stressors, quality of products for processing and for fresh market, post-harvest physiology and technology. Main cultivation practices for other fruit and leafy vegetable crops and herbs.

TU3. Practical workshops, groupworks and technical visits (Face-To-Face + at distance, 12 hours).

Practical workshop: measuring plant physiological response to environmental stresses. At the experimental greenhouse facilities of DISTAL, measurements with leaf porometer on salt stressed vegetable crops. Definition of light intensity and spectral composition. Technical visits to local vegetable farms. Literature review: Searching, analysing, elaborating datasets and research outputs in plant sciences.

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching material

Syllabus and slides available on virtuale.unibo.it

Textbook

Quaryoti M., Baudoin W., Nono Womdin R., Leonardi C., Hanafi A., De Pascale S. 2013. Guidelines on GAP for greenhouse horticulture in the Mediterranean Region. FAO-UN, Rome, Italy. FAO paper, AGP series, 217.

Teaching methods

The course consists of theoretical lectures, practical exercises and groupwork in classroom and in greenhouse, technical visits and workshops.

Considering activities and adopted teaching methods, taking part to this course requires the attendance to safety modules 1 and 2 (online, at https://www.unibo.it/it/servizi-e-opportunita/salute-e-assistenza/salute-e-sicurezza/sicurezza-e-salute-nei-luoghi-di-studio-e-tirocinio) and 3 (in presence, further information in the website of the course degree).

Assessment methods

The exam will take place in both Teams and Zoom platform. Students are requested to perform the exam on Zoom using a PC and have another device (e.g. tablet/mobile phone) connected to Teams. A valid ID and the student badge will be needed in order to confirm identity. The videos of the exam will be recorded and may be used againt frauds or irregolarities.

The test consists of 45 closed-ended questions chosen in the areas listed in the course program available in IOL. For each correct answer a score equal to 1 is assigned, for each wrong answer a score equal to -0.5 is attributed, while in the absence of an answer there is no penalty. The overall score is obtained by the algebraic sum of the individual scores. To pass the exam (and eventually access additional points collected throughout the course), students need to score at least 18 in the quiz and undertake a short oral discussion on the answers provided during the quiz. Cum Laude is awarded when an overall score equal to or greater than 32 points has been obtained.

The maximum duration for the written test is 45 minutes.

NB: The navigation method is sequential and the student must proceed neatly: it is not possible to go back or jump forward.

ATTENTION: when providing the answer (right or wrong) or when not answering and moving to the next question, it is not possible to go back and change the selection.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint presentations, exercises, theoretical and practical workshops.

Links to further information

https://www.foode.eu/

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Orsini