96231 - Precision Farming for Vegetable Production

Learning outcomes

At course completion, the student possesses knowledge on the main solutions for precision vegetable crop production; acquires skills to manage crop monitoring in open field, greenhouse and indoor vegetable farming. In particular, the student possesses the ability to organize cultivation strategies of on-soil and soilless grown vegetable based on innovative technologies, including vertical farming and climate-controlled agriculture.

Course contents

Overview on vegetable crops and cropping systems

Monitoring nutrient status of vegetable crops to improve fertilization management

N assessment and N fertilization management (case studies)

• Why to assess crop N status?
• N balance sheet to guide fertilization (pro and cons)
• Soil monitoring for N
• Leaf tissue & Sap N analysis
• Optical sensors
• Spectral Vegetation Indices (SVIs)
• Use of monitoring system for fertilization management in open field and greenhouse

Management of irrigation to improve water use efficiency of open field and greenhouse grown vegetables.

Management of nutrition and irrigation in soilless crops.

Artificial light and vegetable production.

Readings/Bibliography

Texts and bibliography will be suggested by the teacher during the course.

The teacher will make slides and all the material used during the lecture available online.

Teaching methods

The course consists of lectures accompanied by learning activity that may include:

• projections of documentaries to deepen the topics of the lessons,
• seminars held by visiting professors or experts on topics of particular interest,
• guided visits to horticultural and / or nursery farms.
  

Assessment methods

The student preparation will be assessed through a final written test consisting of a quiz test, which involves 60 closed questions chosen from all the topics covered in class and obtained from the lecture notes (slides + material distributed during the lessons).. For each question there are 4-5 or sometimes 3 answer options. In any case, the right option is only one. For each correct answer a score of 1 is assigned, for each wrong answer or in the absence of an answer there is no penalty. The overall score is obtained as follows:

1) if student answers a number of questions less than or equal to 32, the mark is equal to the algebraic sum of the individual scores (e.g. 20 questions answered with 20 correct answers, mark = 20; 20 questions answered with 18 correct answers, mark = 18; 32 questions answered with 20 correct answers, mark = 20; 32 questions answered with 18 correct answers, mark = 18; 32 questions answered with 30 correct answers, mark = 30; 32 questions answered with 32 correct answers, mark = 30 cum laude);
2) if student answers more than 32 questions, the mark is calculated proportionally to the number of the given answers (e.g. 50 questions answered with 20 correct answers, mark = 20/50 * 32 = 12.8 (13 , thirteen); 50 questions answered with 29 correct answers, mark = 29/50 * 32 = 18.6 (19, nineteen); 50 questions answered with 40 correct answers, mark = 40/50 * 32 = 25.6 (26, twenty six); 50 questions answered with 47 correct answers, mark = 47/50 * 32 = 30.1 (30, thirty); 50 questions answered with 50 correct answers, mark = 50/50 * 32 = 32 (30 cum laude).
The maximum duration for the written test is 60 minutes.

Additional points can be added to the test score to students participating in group work (optional) with the following modality: group work (max 3 students / group) for the presentation (PPT presentation) of a scientific paper chosen by the literature and suggested by the teacher or proposed by the students (max 2 points).

Group works must be presented in the classroom before the end of the lessons (time to be arranged with the teacher) and in the presence of the whole class.

Cum laude evaluation is given to students who have obtained an overall score equal to or greater than 31 points.

Teaching tools

PC, projector, PowerPoint presentations, video / DVD.

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Prosdocimi Gianquinto