Course Unit Page
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Teacher Ornella Francioso
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Credits 6
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SSD AGR/13
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Teaching Mode Traditional lectures
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Language Italian
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Campus of Bologna
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Degree Programme First cycle degree programme (L) in Marketing and Economics of the agro-industrial system (cod. 8526)
SDGs
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.




Academic Year 2021/2022
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the student will be able to understand the main chemical and biochemical processes of the various soil-plant compartments and will also acquire basic knowledge of soil fertility and how it should be assessed and preserved.
Course contents
Course Unit 1. Elements of Agricultural Biochemistry (total 30 numbers of credits).
Macromolecules structure:
-Amino acids and peptides
-Proteins (Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures)
-Enzymes (kinetics and inhibitors)
-Carbohydrates (simple and polysaccharide)
- Lipids
- Glycolsys
- Cycle of Krebs
- Cellular respiration
- Photosynthesis and Cycle of Calvin
Course Unit 2. Elements of Soil Chemistry (total 30 number of credits).
Soil chemical properties:
- pH and buffer capacity
- Cation exchange capacity and Anion exchange capacity
- Soil organic matter and humic substances
Cycle of nutrients (N, P, S, K)
Soil fertility index
Mineral and organic fertilizers
Readings/Bibliography
The materials presented during the lessons do not substitute the reference textbooks but are a complement to them. They constitute a guide for the selection and understanding of the topics to be dealt with. The reference texts are::
J.M Berg, J.L. Tymoczko, L. Stryer Biochimica. Zanichelli, 2012
P. Violante. Chimica e fertilità del suolo. Edagricole, 2013
P. Sequi, C. Ciavatta, T. Miano. Fondamenti di Chmica del Suolo. Patron Editore 2017.
Students who wish to make the oral exam in English can use the following textbook:
D.L. Sparks. Environmental soil chemistry. Academic Press, 2003
J. M. Chesworth, T. Stuchbury, J.R. Scaife. An introduction to agricultural biochemistry. Chapman & Hall, 1998.
Teaching methods
The course consists of lectures (40 hours) and practices (20 hours) represented by seminars offered by visiting professors from other institutions, to integrate the instructor's lectures
Assessment methods
The evaluation of the course takes into account jointly the level of knowledge and skills acquired by the student in relation to the contents of Biochemistry and Soil fertility.
For this course, the skills will be assessed through a final oral examination, consisting of 2 questions. The duration of the oral examination is estimated at around 20-30 minutes and the final grade is an average of Biochemistry and Soil Chemistry questions.
Students that wish to take the exam in English must request it from the teacher at least two days before the exam.
Teaching tools
The teaching material presented during the lesson will be uploaded to https://virtuale.unibo.it/course/.
Office hours
See the website of Ornella Francioso