88207 - Crop Ecology And Crop Quality

Learning outcomes

The course will provide the crucial knowledge on plant growth, physiology, abiotic and biotic stress perception and the responses of horticultural crops.Students will be provided with innovative tools for decision support systems and forecasting yield and fruit quality. This knowledge will be used to tailor human inputs in order increase the profitability and meet consumers expectations.

Course contents

MODULE 1.

Frontal lessons (18 hours)

1. Fruit quality definition, factor affecting fruit quality (genetic, environmental and cultural aspect). 6 hours
2. Main cultural management practices affecting fruit quality (e.g. hormones and plant bioregulators). Fruit maturation and ripening. 6 hours
3. Methods to assess fruit quality (penetrometer, refractometer, titrator, Lugol test, colorimeter, NIRs, DA-Meter, Cherry-meter and Kiwi-Meter, electronic nose, NMR and NMI). Tools for predicting harvesting time, storage strategy. 6 hours

Lab Experiences and Practical Activities (12 hours)

1. Specific seminars with the "quality responsible" of the different cooperatives will be organized to give the student the possibility to understand the importance of the fruit quality and of the stage of ripening to fulfil the marketing expectations and to decide the better storage strategy to maintain the quality and avoid post-harvest diseases. Visits will be organized in the Cooperative packing house plans to give the students the possibility to observe the operations carried out to grade and select the fruits that will be send to different market and /or processing according the their quality characteristics. 3 hours
2. The devices that are normally used to define the fruit quality are recently evolving quite rapidly; most of them do not require the destruction of the fruit sample and several companies are involved in the creation and testing of these new devices. Specific seminars and visit to these companies will be organized to inform the student about the complexity of this operation and to be put in touch with practical aspects. 2 hours
3. Visit to fruit pack houses and cooperatives. 7 hours

MODULE 2

Frontal lessons (18 hours)

The biological interactions occurring in the agricultural ecosystem and on the methods to influence them in order to maximizing production efficiency and fruit quality. The basic concepts of agroecology will be introduced (e.g. biodiversity, resistance, resilience, …). The course will also focus on a holistic approach to manage the ecological interactions occurring between the plant and other organisms, human included, and on their effects on plant productivity and crop quality. The main topics the course will deal with are:

1. Overview of plant ecology and agroecosystem, 2 hours
2. Organisms in their Environments: the Evolutionary Backdrop, Conditions, Resources, 2 hours
3. The concept of niche, carrying capacity and constant yield: their application in the orchard management, 2hours
4. Communities and Ecosystems, Ecological Interactions and Species Interactions in the agroecosystem, 4 hours
5. Ecological Applications: Management of plant ecological interactions to maximize the efficiency of cultural management practices. 8 hours

Lab Experiences and Practical Activities (12 hours)

Exploiting the knowledge on plant ecological interactions (competition, symbiosis, predation/parasitism) for practical management:

1. Methods for studying plant ecological interactions at lab scale. 4 hours
2. Selection of biological control agents against plant disease (competition, symbiosis). 4 hours
3. Selection of possible crop biostimulant organisms (i.e. other plants) (symbiosis). 4 hours

Readings/Bibliography

Selected chapters from:

Connor D.J., Loomis R.S., Cassman K.G. Crop Ecology - Productivity and Management in Agricultural Systems (2nd Ed). Cambridge University Press (2012). ISBN-10: 1139170163

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unibo/reader.action?docID=667577

Taiz L. e Pointer E. Plant Physiology, 5th Edition ISBN-10: 0878938664 Edizione: Fifth

Chapin III S.F., Matson P.A., Mooney H.A.. Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology. Springer, 2011

Begon M., Colin R. Townsend C.R. Harper J.L. Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1-405-11117-1

Handouts and selected papers

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars, visit to orchards and processing plants. Seminars by experts. Seminars by students. Problem-solving activities in which students are asked to deal independently with a practical or research related problem similar to the "case of study" covered by the course. Laboratory and practical experiences

Assessment methods

Oral exam or review prepared by the student on a specific topic of the course.

1. Oral exam. For each module, the exam will consist on 3 questions, accounting for 10 points each. One of the question can be a problem solving activity related to case studies debated during the course. The question may include also the laboratory and practical experiences.
2. Review. The student can prepare a manuscript and/or a seminar on a topic chosen in agreement with the professor. The subject must be related with a specific topic of the course and should review the state-of-the art on that topic. The student will be guided, step-by-step, in the preparation of the elaborate and additional material will be provided to the student to achieve this goal. An example of the review prepared by student is published here: http://www.intechopen.com/books/abiotic-stress-in-plants-mechanisms-and-adaptations/emission-and-function-of-volatile-organic-compounds-in-response-to-abiotic-stress

Each Author was involved in a specific chapter of the review

During students presentations the teacher stimulate the discussion regarding major problems relative to Horticulture situation (point of strength and weakness) related and specific to the different geographical areas of student’s provenience

Teaching tools

Power Point Presentation, lab and experimental fields

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Spinelli