Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Moduli: Claudio Ratti (Modulo Mod 1) Stefano Tartarini (Modulo Mod 2)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo Mod 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo Mod 2)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies (cod. 9235)

Learning outcomes

Once the programme is completed, students will have acquired basic knowledge on the analytical methodologies and skills to correctly operate analytical instruments usually adopted in the field of plant production and biotechnologies. By approaching specific case studies, students will be invited to manage and develop innovative plant production systems.

Course contents

Module 1 (10 hours)

1. Classroom teaching (5 hours)

Plant analysis Theory

1.1. Liquid and gas chromatographic analysis: Theory and relevance.

1.2. PCR quantitative real time: Theory and relevance.

1.3. Leaf gas exchanges and chlorophyll fluorescence

1.4. Digital PCR: from relative to absolute quantification.

2. Lab analytical trials (10 hours)

2.1. Chromatographical analysis of plant material

2.2. Preparation of nucleic acid extracts from plant tissues and real time quantitative PCR

2.3. Measurement of photosynthesis, transpiration and chlorophyll fluorescence.

2.4. Droplet digital PCR system (Bio-Rad QX200)

Module 2 (10 hours)

Teaching Unit 1 (1.5 hours)

Post-harvest physiology in fruit tree species

Teaching Unit 2 (1.5 hours)

Post-harvest of vegetable crops and horticultural products

Teaching Unit 3 (1.5 hours)

Post-harvest physiology of flowers

Teaching Unit 4 (1.5 hours)

Conditioning technologies and distribution of horticultural products

Technical Visits (4 hours)

Readings/Bibliography

  • Periodic table of the elements
  • Official methods of soil analysis available on the web
  • Slides provided by the instructor
  • Online manuals

Teaching methods

  • During the classroom teaching, students will acquire knowledge of the main techniques of analysis of soil and plant material. The knowledge acquisition as well as the comprehension ability of students will be monitored along the entire teaching period through a continuous interactions between the teacher and students through the problem solving approach. The teacher-student interaction is also finalized to improve the development of the evaluation skills and to increase the communication ability of the students.
  • Owing to the high number of students attending the course that limit their admission to the laboratories of the Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies, the analytical trails will be operated remotely and safely from the class by the software teamviewer

Assessment methods

The assessment of each teaching module will be evaluated through a qualifying written examination made of 15 or 30 multiple answer questions for modules 1 and 2, respectively. The final assessment of each module will be successfully passed with 9 or 18 correct answers, respectively.

Teaching tools

Blackboard

PC

Projector

Software TeamViewer

Isotopic mass spectrometer

HPLC-Diodarray

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Ratti

See the website of Stefano Tartarini

SDGs

Responsible consumption and production

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.