84587 - Control Of Disease In Organic Plant Production

Course contents

A) Prerequisites

Students attending this course will have good knowledge of plant biology, plant pathology, physiology, agricultural genetic, and microbiology. Such skills are provided by the courses of the first and second years.

B) Teaching Units

1. Sustainable production and plant protection practices.

2. Diseases, epidemic and endemic diseases, plant resilience.

3. Plant diseases managements in organic farming system.

Unit 1 - Sustainable production and plant protection practices (hours 2)

Knowledge acquired in the teaching unit 1:

Sustainable disease control models.

Principles of organic farming system.

Essential legislation on organic farming and in particular on the defence in organic agriculture

 

Unit 2 - Diseases, epidemic and endemic diseases, plant resilience (hours 3)

Knowledge acquired in the teaching unit 2:

More important destructive diseases.

Epidemic and endemic disease pattern.

Principles of pathogenesis.

Characteristics of soil-borne, seed-borne and aerial pathogens.

Unit 3 - Plant diseases managements in organic farming system (hours 25)

Knowledge acquired in the teaching unit 3:

Disease prevention strategies.

Direct means of disease control.

Strategies of disease control of the major crops.

Teaching support activity (10 hours)

Activity in lecture rooms

1) Training seminars on: magement approaches in organic farming system and mycotoxins in food

2) Projection of educational movies on important diseases and their management

3) Plant samples showing disease symptoms.

Laboratory activity

1) Fungal pathogens recognition at optical microscope.

Field activity

1) Educational trip to an organic farm.

Consolidation activity

This part of the course will be dedicated to the consolidation of the knowledge provided during the lessons, with particular attention to the needings raised by the students.

Readings/Bibliography

Massimo Benuzzi e Vincenzo Vacante (2021). Difesa Fitosanitaria in ortofrutticoltura biologica., Edagricole ISBN: 978-88-506-5615-8.

Teaching material will be upload in the "Isegnamenti on line" at the end of each lesson. Students of this course should register to the plattform to download the teaching material.

Teaching methods

1) Class lectures

Knowledge acquirement a) necessary to understand the general characteristics of pathogens of agricultural plants; b) principles of integrated production and of organic system.

This knowledge will be monitored during the course through a continuous interaction between teacher and student. This will possibly involve also the discussion of some interesting papers on the main topics covered during the lessons. This will allow to stimulate the critical sense communication skills of the student.

2) Practical activity

Learning of: a) observation and assessment of disease symptoms; b) general practices commonly used in a laboratory of plant pathology and biological crop protection in order to practically apply the theoretical knowledge acquired during lessons.

3) Guided tours

Student will be accompanied in guided tours to organic farms.

Assessment methods

Oral presentation in power point on a case-study, followed by two questions. The case-study may be proposed by the student or by the teacher during the lessons.

Teaching tools

Overhead projector and computer will be used for class lectures.

Laboratory exercises will take place in the Teaching laboratories of

• Biology I - 1st floor – North Wing, n. 46.

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Roberti