|
Undergraduate Courses l Plant & Soil Sciences Graduate Courses l Entomology Graduate Courses
Some of the PSIS courses listed below are also available during the academic year via Continuing & Professional Education (C&PE). In additon, Summer PSIS courses, both credit and non-credit (including Wetland Science courses), are offered exclusively through C&PE.
(For 500 and higher level courses, see ENTOMOL listings under Entomology, and PLNTSOIL listings under Plant & Soil Sciences)
A holistic view of plants including ecology, plant form and function, inheritance and evolution, and the relationship between plants and human life. Taught using world food, agricultural and gardening examples. (Gen.Ed. BS) (both smsesters)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Introduction to insect recognition, development, damage, and control. (Spring, first 7 weeks).
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab; discussion. Structure, function, and reproduction of plants; emphasis on the flowering plants. (Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
The ways in which water, light, and temperature influence plants, and the ways in which plants respond to changes in the environment. Emphasis on physical nature of these environmental factors.
Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102
(Enrollment restricted to Stockbridge Students), (Spring, first 7 weeks)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Functions of mineral nutrients in plants, effects of mineral deficiencies, and sources of these nutrients to prevent or alleviate deficiencies in crop production. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 105.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 105
(Enrollment restricted to Stockbridge Students), (Spring, first 7 weeks)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Interrelationship of soils and higher plants. Physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. Practical approach to current problems through basic soil principles. Prerequisite: some knowledge of chemistry. (Gen.Ed., BS) (Fall)
Course Component:
Discussion - Required
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
top of page
Same as PLSOILIN 105, but lecture only. (Gen. Ed., BS) (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Principles and practical methods of controlling turf insect pests. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 101. (Spring, second 7 weeks).
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
The recognition, biology, and control of major insect and mite pests attacking shade trees and woody ornamentals in the northeastern U.S. Emphasis on techniques and knowledge useful to the professional in tree care. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 101. (Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Applied introduction to plant pathology in horticultural crops. Identification, description, and management of diseases in modern horticultural production. Chemical, biological, cultural, and genetic controls and their integration. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102.
Enrollment Requirement Group PreRequisite: PLSOILIN 102
Enrollment restricted to Stockbridge students), (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Diagnosis and management of turfgrass diseases. Diagnosis techniques and appropriate cultural, chemical, genetic, and biological management strategies. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 111. (Fall; Enrollment restricted to Stockbridge students)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
A field laboratory on the diagnosis and management of the health problems of woody plants. Students learn to recognize the major plant diseases of trees and shrubs using plant materials on campus. Disease management options presented on an individual basis in a clinical context. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 111. (Fall; Enrollment restricted to Stockbridge students)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
top of page
Introduction to understanding the biological and physical relationships among plants, soils, and the environment. Exploring how various human activities affect the environment with specific attention to plant and soil resources. Topics include: ecosystem sustainability; food and agriculture (and related issues of biotechnology, food access, and pest management); soil and its preservation; wetlands, water pollution and treatment technologies, and resource conservation. (Gen.Ed., SI) (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab/discussion. Introduction to principles of soil fertility and crop management by organic procedures which are contrasted and evaluated against conventional chemical methods of farming. A science course (Gen. Ed., BS), (Both semesters.)
Course Component:
Discussion - Required
Lecture - Required
Survey with emphasis on the successful design of insects and their innovative features. Aspects of insect biology, including communication, defense, feeding, and mating behaviors. Social behavior with a focus on termite, ant, and honey bee societies. Beneficial uses of insects such as silk and pollination, and negative interactions with humans, including disease vectors, parasites, and crop pests. Slides, videos, and live insects used extensively. Not for majors in biological sciences. (Gen.Ed., BS) (Planned Fall & Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
The natural and social history of major infectious epidemics in humans, plants, and animals, such as Bubonic Plague, ebola, the Irish Famine, and Mad Cow Disease. The role of emerging and re-emerging diseases in today's world, such as HIV, West Nile Virus, and malaria. How treatments for today's diseases may breed tomorrow's epidemics, and what the ecology of infectious microbial pathogens can teach us about understanding, identifying and managing diseases. (Not for credit towards major, No prerequisites) (Gen.Ed., BS) (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
The practical aspects of beekeeping understood in terms of the life cycle of the bee and the bee colony, and the place of bees in our world. Learning how to acquire, set up, and manage bee colonies. Dissection may be required.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
Students receive credit for passing state pesticide applicator's examination.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
Topics include state and federal pesticide laws and regulations, pesticides and the environment, handling and storage of pesticides, classes and formulations of pesticides, safety and application equipment, understanding the pesticide label, toxicity, proper calculation and mixing of pesticides, and history of pesticide use. Includes preparation for the Massachusetts Pesticide Core Examination. (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Independent work related to some area dealing with plant, soil, and/or insect sciences. No prerequisite knowledge or course work required.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
top of page
With lab. The basic principles and techniques for propagating plants by both sexual and asexual means, including seeds, cuttings, bulbs, and tissue culture. The hormonal and physiological factors affecting rooting, seed dormancy, grafting, budding, and layering. Prerequisite: BIOLOGY 103 or equivalent
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102, or a 100-level Biology course.
(Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Laboratory - Required
With lab. Basic principles of selecting and managing turfgrass for home lawns, parks, golf courses, and other turf areas. Topics include: climatic adaptation, grass identification, establishment practices, pest control, fertility, environmental stresses, etc. Prerequisites (or co-requisites): Introductory botany, soils, or consent of instructor. (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Laboratory - Required
With lab. Principles of engines and machinery operation, maintenance, selection, and minor repair. Turf equipment emphasized. Instruction on how to train operators of equipment. Budgeting for equipment. (Spring; 7weeks)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Principles of hydraulics and system design for turf and landscapes with an emphasis on golf courses. Irrigation systems, equipment performance, installation practices, operation procedures and troubleshooting. Drainage of sports turf also included. (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Theory and practice of pruning deciduous fruit plants/trees. Practical, hands-on experience is the focus of the class. (Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory – Required
Lecture - Required
top of page
Calculations involving area and volume measurements, fertilizer and pesticide requirements, cost analysis, seed calculations, irrigation calculations, and calculations relating to spreader and sprayer calibrations.
Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 230.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 230
(Planned for Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Study and identification of herbaceous plants; their uses as ornamental plants for home, park, and business. (Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. For agriculture and non-agriculture students who want to explore ethical, practical, scientific, and personal aspects of the quest for long-term agricultural sustainability. Students evaluate specific farming, food system, and lifestyle practices from economic, social, and environmental perspectives. Includes field trips, lectures, discussion of current topics, and individual research. Some knowledge of basic agricultural principles helpful. (Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Development of integrated educational units that use insects but focus on art, history, music, and mathematics. Experiences in using microscope, raising live insects, collecting and observing insects, making an insect collection. The biology of the insect compared to the human system. (GenEd., BS) (Fall).
Course Component:
ONLINE
First half of the semester: an introduction to basic concepts in agricultural chemistry as related to the growth and culture of turf grasses. Second half: the overall growth and development of grasses including such areas as soil fertility and mineral nutrition. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 230. (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Introduction to the growth, culture, and science related to the production and use of herbs, spices, and medicinal plants. Emphasis on plants used in the home; discussion of bioactivity of plant extracts. Practice in seeding, growing, oil extraction, and utilization of these plants. (Gen. Ed., BS) (Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
top of page
An introduction to diverse global perspectives on environmental, economic and social sustainability. The course presents a cultural, ethical and technical review of the impact that our daily decisions make on the global condition. (Gen. Ed., I)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Independent project in plant, soil and/or insect sciences for students who have already completed introductory course work in plant biology and soil science, and/or entomology.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
An examination of indigenous medicinal systems from around the world (including Ayurvedic, Chinese, African, Middle Eastern, European, Central Asian, Native American and Amazonian). Students will be exposed to the use of medicinal plants in different cultures around the globe. Companion course to PLSOILIN 297D. These courses can be taken in any sequence. (Fall)
An examination of indigenous medicinal systems from around the world (including Ayurvedic, Chinese, African, Middle Eastern, European, Central Asian, Native American and Amazonian). Students will be exposed to the use of medicinal plants in different cultures around the globe. Companion course to PLSOILIN 297C. These courses can be taken in any sequence. (Spring)
Introduction to herbology through a survey of clinical herbalism, covering major aspects of herbalism in history and an examination and comparison of health models, medicinal plants, and materia medica.
Study of herbalism in human health through discussions on clinical theory, ethics, and politics associated with herbalism.
Internship or other pre-professional work experience related to plant, soil, and/or insect sciences.
Course Component:
Practicum - Required
With lab. Principles and practices involved in the establishment and management of deciduous orchards. Basic botany course suggested. (Fall, odd years)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
top of page
With lab. Principles and practices governing the establishment and management of small fruit plantings. Basic botany course suggested. (Fall, even years)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. History of weed control; importance of weeds and their relationship to people and the environment; ecology of weeds, competition, persistence and survival mechanisms; reproduction, seed germination, and dormancy; methods of weed control- cultural, biological, chemical, and integrated pest management strategies; classification of herbicides and their selectivity; soil factors affecting herbicide performance, persistence and degradation; application equipment and calibration of sprayers; weed management systems for various crops and non-crop areas. (Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. Introduction to the greenhouse environment and the technology used in production of greenhouse crops. Greenhouse experiments in crop production; exercises on greenhouse structures, heating and cooling, growing media, crop nutrition, photoperiod control and lighting, and crop scheduling; field trip to local greenhouses. Prerequisite: BIOLOGY 103 or equivalent. (Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. Greenhouse culture of seasonal crops, stressing modern concepts of production and management. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 315 and BIOLOGY 103 or equivalent.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 102 or BIOLOGY 103, AND PLSOILIN 315.
(Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. Principles of sustainable production of vegetable crops. Topics include specific practices used for the major vegetable crops grown in New England, water and soil fertility management, season extenders, and crop rotation. Course intended for students who want to grow vegetable crops or work in the vegetable industry. Prerequisite: introductory botany or plant science course. (Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory – Required
Lecture - Required
With optional lab and field trips. How insects solve their problems of maintenance, survival, reproduction, etc., and how entomologists apply this knowledge in managing them. Other topics include insect evolution, plant and insect interactions, biodiversity and conservation of insects, behavior, and insect pest management. Emphasis on various insect models (e.g., Drosophila) as they relate to major research in biology. (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
Lab designed to demonstrate information covered in the lecture part of the course and to help students learn various entomological techniques (i.e., how to collect, identify, and preserve insects). Lab work with live insects affords students an opportunity to observe various body parts at work and to see what internal structures are present. Several field trips, dissections of several insects, and a collection required.
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
With lab. Greenhouse culture of spring greenhouse crops. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 315 and 321.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 315 and 321
(Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Management of environmental stress in turfgrass. Special practices in managing high-quality turfgrass areas such as golf courses, athletic fields, and ornamental areas. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 230 and 275.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 230 & 275
(Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Current issues associated with pesticide use; includes discussion of role of pesticides in agriculture, public
health, and other related areas; fate of pesticides in the environment; and public perception of pesticides. Case studies examine benefits and risks of pesticide use; environmental cancer; and role of media and public interest groups in pesticide decisions. Alternatives to current heavy reliance on chemical technology in pest control. Current and pending federal, state, and local legislation. (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. An examination of sustainable farming systems for forage and field crop production. Cultural requirements and physiological responses of crops. Illustrations of concepts, discussions of topics and examination of distinguishing morphological characteristics of selected crop species.
Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 103 or PLSOILIN 102 or consent of instructor. (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
With lab. Cultural practices of field and container production; how these practices and environmental factors influence nursery crop growth and development. Topics include: site selection, planting and spacing, mineral nutrition, harvesting, irrigation practices, pest management, and overwintering. Basic economic management of nursery crops production and marketing reviewed. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 105; ENVIRDES 335 highly recommended.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: Plsoil105
(Planned for Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Instruction in and practice on soilless culture of plants by hydroponics. Topics include plant nutrition, nutrient solutions, media, systems and techniques of hydroponics, and marketing. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 105 or 120. Chemistry recommended (Spring, odd years))
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Tropical regions of the world, their environment and classification; influence of climate, population, and socioeconomic conditions on agriculture; major crops and cropping systems of sub-humid tropics; introduction to dry land agriculture; importance of rainfall and irrigation on productivity; green revolution; desertification; present and future research needs of region, and state of agricultural technology. (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Soil management and control of water and wind erosion. Environmental aspects of soil and water conservation. Discussion of cropping and tilling systems and their effect on soil loss. Principles of soil drainage and irrigation for agricultural and engineering practices. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 105 or 106.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 05
(Fall, even years.)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Satisfies Junior Year Writing requirement for PLSOILIN majors, through a series of writing exercises based on the types of written materials commonly used in plant, insect, and soil sciences. Exercises include developing and writing professional correspondence, resumes, reports, and bibliographies. Students work individually and in groups to master sentence and paragraph structure. Oral presentation required.
Prerequisite: ENGLWRIT 112 or equivalent.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: ENGLWRIT 112 (or 112H) or ENGLISH 120, or completion of the CW General Education requirement.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
An introduction to the methodology fundamental to the practice of modern agricultural biotechnology. Techniques covered include establishment and manipulation of plant and animal cell cultures, preparation and analysis of DNA and RNA, production of recombinant protein expression vectors, isolation and characterization of proteins, and use of immunoassays. Major emphasis on the student's performance of laboratory exercises which provide direct experience with each of the techniques mentioned. Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 101 and CHEM 112, or Consent of Instructor.
A classroom dialogue intended to introduce students to controversial agricultural issues, explore diverse perspectives, and develop an individual and community-based understanding of current issues affecting American agricultures. Examples of issues included are sustainability, alternative economies, organic agriculture, spirituality, genetic engineering, food safety, green revolution, and urban farming. Mandatory Pass/Fail (Fall)
Course Component:
Seminar - Required
Upper-level project in plant, soil. and insect sciences for students who have completed course work in plant biology, soil science, and/or entomology, and at least two mid-level PLSOILIN courses.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
Explore traditional, plant-derived medicines among various world cultures, based by first-hand knowledge from field research. Learn about beneficial compounds in plants, and about medicinal plant preparation. See, touch, smell, and taste herbal potions. View extraordinary slides from the Amazon, India, China, and other cultures, and learn about environmental preservation, shamans, medicine men and women, and nature's bounty of beneficial plants.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Understanding the movement of food from the grower to the consumer. Emphasis on how consumers get access to food from emergency and non-emergency sources. Direct marketing, Community-Supported Agriculture, farmers' markets, and small-scale farming discussed. Outside speakers from area community food banks, CSA's, non-profit organizations, faith communities, soup kitchens, and farmers' markets lead discussions on various topics related to food access. A Service Learning course. (Fall)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
top of page
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the prevention or suppression of pests (insects, mites, diseases, weeds and algae) by use of multiple management strategies that are effective, economically feasible, and safe for growers, consumers, and the environment. Focus on IPM strategies used in commercial greenhouse crop production. Emphasis on major greenhouse pests including identification, life cycles, monitoring and management strategies.(Spring, first 7 weeks)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Focus on theory and practice of insect pest management with emphasis on ecological underpinnings. The major elements of entomology (insect structure and function, life cycles, orders) will be reviewed at the outset of the course, followed by aspects of insect ecology, such as plant/insect and predator/prey relationships, life histories, population dynamics. The second half of the course will begin with a focus on the building blocks of management programs, including economic decisions, methods for sampling/monitoring, and management tactics (insecticides, cultural and biological control, transgenic crops), and will conclude with specific insect management case histories. (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Marketing introduction for students in the green industries with special attention to turfgrass, horticulture and natural products. Market research, creative positioning and plan development, plus preparation of a full marketing plan during semester. (Fall)
Basic aspects of water relations and mineral nutrition in plants, plant biochemistry including photosynthesis, respiration and synthesis of important compounds, topics in plant growth and development such as growth regulators, photomorphogenesis and photoperiodism, and environmental physiology.
Prerequisites: Introductory botany or biology and introductory chemistry.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: Chemistry 110 or 111
(Both semesters).
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Internship or other pre-professional work experience in the field of plant, soil, and insect sciences. Requires prerequisite course work in plant biology, soil science, entomology or plant pathology and at least two mid-level PLSOILIN courses.
Course Component:
Practicum - Required
top of page
Internship or other pre-professional work experience in the field of plant, soil, and insect sciences. Requires prerequisite course work in plant biology, soil science, entomology, or plant pathology, and at least two mid-level PLSOILIN courses. Mandatory Pass/Fail grading.
Course Component:
Practicum - Required
Practicum focusing on greenhouse venting and temperature control, maintaining outdoor gardens, harvesting of floricultural crops, post-harvest handling of floricultural crops, fertilization, propagation (by seed, cuttings, division), greenhouse maintenance, operation of greenhouse equipment (fertilizer injector).
Course Component:
Practicum - Required
Internship or other pre-professional work experience in the field of turfgrass management, including but not limited to golf course management, athletic field maintenance, and professional lawn care.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 230
Course Component:
Practicum - Required
Research or other independent upper-level project in plant, soil, and insect sciences. Student must have completed course work in plant biology, soil science, entomology, and at least one upper-level PLNTSOIL/ENTOMOL course.
Course Component:
Individualized Study, Required
Plant science research in laboratory or greenhouse. Student must have completed course work in plant biology, soil science, chemistry, and at least one upper-level PLNTSOIL course.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
Soil science research in laboratory or field setting. Student must have completed course work in plant biology, soil science, chemistry, and at least one upper-level PLNTSOIL course.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
Assisting with instruction/classroom preparation for introductory plant, soil, and insect sciences courses. Student must have completed course work in plant biology, soil science, chemistry, and at least one upper-level PLNTSOIL/ENTOMOL course.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
Insect science research. Student must have completed coursework in biology, entomology, and at least one upper-level ENTOMOL course.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
top of page
(For plant pathology and for plant & soil sciences undergraduate courses, see PLSOILIN listings - Plant, Soil, & Insect Sciences).
With lab. Causes, nature, and control of plant diseases. Diagnosis of plant diseases. Mechanisms, biochemistry, and genetics of plant disease induction, development, and control. Prerequisite: course in plant biology (PLSOILIN 397P preferred) (Fall).
Course Component :
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
The ecology of plant, microbe, and human interactions in plant diseases, from wilderness to industrial farms. Epidemics, traditional farming, environmental impacts and sustainability issues. Ways in which agriculture, particularly plant production and plant disease management, change ecosystems. Independent project.
Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 100 or equivalent recommended. (Spring, even years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Microbial processes in the soil and sediment environment; ecology of the various microbial communities; the decomposition of organic matter, carbon transformation, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and other mineral transformations. Chemistry of these reactions and their biogeochemical implications. Biological equilibrium, the rhizosphere, and microbial associations. Prerequisites: basic biology and organic chemistry. (Spring)
With lab. Physiology of crop plants, carbon fixation, partitioning, growth and development, competition in crops, environmental factors and yield relationships of crops. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 350 or 325 or consent of instructor. (Spring)
Course Component :
Lecture - Required
Biology, ecology, physiology, and taxonomy of fungi. Includes consideration of fungi as causes of diseases in animals, humans, and plants, and their uses in biotechnology applications such as bioremediation.
Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 100, 101. (Fall)
Course Component :
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. The acquisition, translocation, distribution, and function of the essential inorganic elements in plants. Genetic control of plant nutrition and ecological adaptation to nutritional variables. Diagnosis of plant nutritional disorders. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 102 and 105, CHEM 110 or 111 or equivalent courses.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 105 and any Chemistry course. (Fall.)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Methods of diagnosing plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, and abiotic agents considered using specimens collected by students. Prerequisite: PLNTSOIL 505.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: PLNTSOIL 505 (Spring, odd years).
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
An introduction to the principles of plant breeding. Topics cover basic breeding methods, genetic engineering, reproductive systems of crop plants, inbreeding depression and hybrid vigor, interspecific hybridization, use of genetic markers for crop improvement, breeding for disease resistance, conservation of germplasm, crop evolution, and applications of gel electrophoresis. Prerequisite: BIOLOGY 283 or similar course in introductory genetics. (Fall).
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
The basic biochemical and physiological processes occurring in fruits, vegetables, and flowers after harvest; postharvest treatments to modify these processes.
Prerequisites: CHEM 111; PLSOILIN 397P, BIOLOGY 510 desirable).
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: Chemistry 110 or 111 (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
The influence of naturally occurring plant hormones on regulating physiology, growth, and development in plants. Also, the uses and potential uses of synthetic plant growth regulators, cultural techniques, and horticultural practices to improve the production of food, fiber and ornamental plants.
Prerequisites: introductory plant science course, PLSOILIN 397P recommended.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102, or a 100-level Biology course.
(Spring, alternate years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Identification and discussion of environmental stress factors that affect growth and success of plants. Emphasis will be placed on ornamental plants, trees, shrubs, and turf in urban/suburban environments. Criteria will be developed to fit plants to various types of urban sites, depending on site characteristics. Plant response to light, temperature, water, salt and other soil pollutants, soil compaction, and air pollutants will be considered as well as mechanisms of tolerance or avoidance. Lectures plus one field trip. Three written exams, student paper, no final exam. Prerequisites: Introductory Plant science course, Plant physiology preferred.
Lecture - Required
Ecological concepts in weed management; historical and ecological perspectives. Weed-crop competition and allelopathy; reproductive strategy; seed dormancy, seed production, allocation of resources in perennial weeds. The physiology and biochemistry of herbicides in plants and their relationships with the soil environment. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 310 or consent of instructor.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 310 (Spring, odd years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Effect of environmental factors on soil formation and land use. Relationship between soil morphology, classification, and use interpretations. Application of soils information to on-site sewage disposal, wetland identification, and other environmentally significant problem areas.
Prerequisite: introductory course in chemistry, geology, soils, or environmental science; or consent of instructor. (Spring)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
top of page
With lab. Physical properties of soils and how they relate to water and solute movement in hydrologic systems, energy exchange, plant-soil-water relations, environmental problems, and soil-water management.
Prerequisites: basic courses in mathematics, chemistry, and physics, or consent of instructor. (Spring, alternate years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Biology and identification of soil nematodes. Parasitism of plants and management practices stressed.
Prerequisite: PLNTSOIL 505.
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
With lab. Fundamental chemical concepts/processes in soils, such as precipitation/dissolution, ion exchange, redox reactions, partitioning and adsorption, and solution speciation and nature of soil minerals and organic matter. Computer models used to examine current environmental, agricultural, and engineering problems. Examination of how soil chemical processes affect fate, transport, availability, and remediation of heavy metals and organic contaminants in soils and sediments. Prerequisites: CHEM 112, PLSOILIN 105.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: Chemistry 110 or 111
(Fall).
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
The role of mineral elements in the growth of plants; plant response to fertilizers and other soil amendments; soil reaction, mineral deficiencies and toxicities; environmental impact of soil fertility management practices. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 102 and 105 (or equivalents), CHEM 110 or 111.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 105 and any Chemistry course (Spring, even years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
This is an advanced course dealing with major topics and recent advances in plant stress physiology. Discussion of environmental stresses will address methodology utilized for stress tolerance evaluation as well as assessment of current research areas in plant stress physiology. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 397P or BIOLOGY 510 (Fall)
Graduate level independent project or research, unrelated to students' thesis or dissertation.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
This course will cover the various aspects of phytoremediation - the use of plants (both natural hyperaccumulators and transgenic) and their associated microbes with the purpose of environmental clean-up of contaminated soil, sediments and water. Various strategies for phytoremediation of a wide range of toxic pollutants, both organic and elemental, with a special emphasis on toxic metals will be discussed.
Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 100, or 103, or PLSOILIN 397P or equivalent course.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: BIOLOGY 101 or BIOLOGY 103 or PLSOILIN 397P (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
Regional field trip in soil formation and classification to various states in the Northeast.
Prerequisites: PLNTSOIL 565, or PLNTSOIL 566. (Odd year spring/summers)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Additional discussion period to enhance student learning in PLNTSOIL 530. Review and discussion of laboratory exercises and problem sets for PLNTSOIL 530. Instruction for writing scientific journal articles and abstracts. Review of current journal literature related to plant nutrition. Students must be concurrently registered for PLNTSOIL 530.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Complements PLNTSOIL 540 Plant Breeding lecture course. Topics include wide hybridizations, breaking breeding barriers, embryo rescue. hybrid identification, application of genetic markers, screening and selecting for disease resistance, Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLNTSOIL 540 (or instructor consent)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Federal procedure for wetland identification and delineation using vegetation, hydrology, and soils. Includes wetland plant identification and herbarium collection, hydric soils identification, and recognition of wetland hydrology indicators. Classroom instruction, followed by field exercises; individual delineation project; literature studies required for final report. Prerequisites: knowledge of chemistry helpful. (Fall, odd years).
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Transport and fate of manmade compounds in natural and managed environments: abiotic and biotic effects including partitioning, interfaces, concentration, biodegradation and biotransformation. Examination of specific examples of compounds and classes of contaminants in affected environments, such as pesticides and petroleum products in soil and ground water. Prerequisites: basic biology, CHEM 250 or 261, knowledge of biochemistry helpful. (Fall, even years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Provides students with an opportunity to
learn and practice holistic systems thinking to deepen their
understanding of complex food and agricultural systems. The classroom
environment is designed to encourage co-learning (learning from each other). A real farm system
will be used as a model for study. Systems tools will be taught and
practiced with agricultural and ecological examples. Students select one of the classic texts on systems thinking for investigation
and team teaching experience. (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
This capstone course stresses concepts of Integrated Pest Management and reviews stress management and pest management strategies. Each student will develop and IPM plan for a turf setting. Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 107 & 310 & 340 and PLNTSOIL 505
top of page
Aquatic plant selection, sizing, and design techniques. Pollution parameters of primary concern include BOD,
suspended solids, nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, and organics. Treatment applications include primary and secondary effluents and sludges; storm water and agricultural runoff; solid and hazardous waste leachates, liquid industrial wastes. Field trips, student projects. Prerequisites: college algebra, introductory chemistry, introductory physics, biology; or consent of instructor. (Fall)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Physical, chemical, and biological factors affecting the fate and transport of heavy metals and other inorganic contaminants in soils, sediments, and groundwater. Introduction to heavy metal chemistry: their sources, pedogenic and geochemical behavior, and methods used for their analysis. Remediation technologies, options, and goals also presented. Prerequisites: CHEM 112, knowledge of transition metal chemistry, or permission of instructor.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: CHEM 112 (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Supplies background necessary to design and analyze field and laboratory experiments. Focus on statistical analysis for agricultural scientists. Primary emphasis on analysis of variance, regression, and experimental design. Computer-assisted analysis presented. Prerequisites: a course in basic statistical analysis. (Planned for Fall).
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Selected research problems not related to a candidate's Master's thesis.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
1 unit, Autio
Informal discussion class, focusing on students' problems, concerns, or enthusiasm with their own experimental designs, data analyses, or interpretations of results, including computer- (particularly SAS) generated output. New techniques presented by the instructor or guest instructors as requested by the class. Students gain practical experience with data analysis and a better understanding of the approaches necessary for their own thesis or dissertation work. Prerequisite: PLNTSOIL 661 or other course in intermediate statistical analysis.
Enrollment Requirement Group Prerequisite: PLNTSOIL 661 (Both semesters)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
The biochemistry and molecular biology of interactions among microorganisms and other biota in the soil environment. Includes a critical review of current literature.
Prerequisite: PLNTSOIL 515 or consent of instructor.
Course Component:
Lecture- Required
Training and experience in oral communication. Required once of all candidates for advanced degrees and should be taken in the first year of enrollment in the program. (Spring)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Master's candidates attend weekly seminar meetings.
Course Component:
Seminar - Required
Master's candidates attend seminar meetings and present results of their thesis research to faculty and students at a regular seminar meeting, which is open to the public.
Course Component:
Seminar - Required
Lecture and discussion of current theories of the chemistry of soils. Consent of instructor required. (Planned for Spring, alternate years.)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
Doctoral candidates attend weekly seminar meetings.
Course Component:
Seminar - Required
Same as PLNTSOIL 793A; required of doctoral candidates.
Course Component:
Seminar - Required
Selected research problems not related to a candidate's doctoral dissertation.
Course Component:
Individualized Study - Required
top of page
(For undergraduate courses in Entomology see PLSOILIN listings under Plant, Soil, & Insect Sciences)
Specific behaviors of insects analyzed from physiological, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives. Topics include communication, defense, learning, competition, spacing patterns, orientation mechanisms, dispersal and migration, host and mate finding, food selection, feeding, courtship, production of young, and social behavior. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 326 or equivalent, or consent of instructor. (Fall, odd years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Ecological principles of pest suppression via conservation, augmentation or introduction of natural enemies of insects, plants, and other pests. Biological control presented as foundation of sustainable agriculture and integrated pest management. Applications discussed for biological control in both production systems (farming, forestry) and for protection of natural ecosystems and rare species from damage caused by invasive, exotic pests. (Spring, even years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
With lab. Ecology, biology and control of insects which attack shade trees, forests and forest products. A brief introduction to insects; attention to the more important forest and shade tree insects. (Spring, odd years)
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
This course is an in depth analysis of the role of arthropods as disease vectors (taxonomy, life history, epidemiology and vector control), with particular focus on the major diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks. In addition to the classical topics of Medical Entomology, we will examine how modern advances in molecular biology, immunology, genomics and theoretical population biology has improved our understanding of these systems and may lead to new intervention strategies. Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 100 & 101 with a grade of 'C-' or better in both courses. (Spring, even years)
Theory and application of the principles of insect, disease, and weed pest management; emphasis on insects. Focus on pest and natural enemy sampling techniques, properties of available control strategies, underlying ecological and behavioral principles, model pest management systems and societal concerns. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 326 or PLSOILIN 505 or equivalent.
Course Component:
Laboratory – Required
Lecture - Required
Introduction to insect microbial interactions; attention to pathogenic microorganisms; including viruses, fungi, bacteria, and protozoa; concentration on the molecular basis of pathogenesis.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Ecology and evolution of insect-plant interactions in basic and applied contexts. Lectures, discussions, and readings will examine insect-plant interactions and the consequences at multiple levels.
Prerequisites: introductory ecology course and statistics recommended. (Fall).
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Introduction to systematics: the identification of insects (primarily adult forms), current methods in systematics. Extensive insect collection required. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 326 or equivalent. (Fall, even years)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Growth, development, and function of insects. Topics include the integument, endocrine control of growth, development, metamorphosis and reproduction, polymorphism, diapause, circadian rhythms, biological clock, photoperiodism, nutrition, respiration, circulation, excretion, and function of neuromuscular system.
Prerequisites: PLSOILIN 326, BIOCHEM 420 and 421.
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
For students without strong background in cell and molecular biology. Basic eukaryotic genetics, cell biology and molecular biology, how molecular tools can be used in the study of insects.
Prerequisites: one semester each of genetics, insect physiology. One semester of biochemistry helpful.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
Online course. Provides teachers with essential background about insects for forming and answering questions. Techniques in securing information, rearing insects, and outdoor study presented. Effective use of new technologies highlighted. To check technical requirements, consult: http://www.umamherstonline.orglindex.learn? action=Tech.
Course Component:
Online
With lab. Major concepts of population and community ecology; emphasis on insects. Topics include methods for estimating density and mortality, population regulation, host-parasite models, competitive exclusion, species diversity, and insect plant interactions. (Spring, even years)
Course Component:
Laboratory - Required
Lecture - Required
Students will conduct individual research projects based on testing hypotheses from field observations. Class will spend one week (in late August) at Harvard Forest. During the semester, class will review main types of experimental design and data analysis used by ecologists. Class should provide a foundation for many of the skills of an organismal biologist. Permission of instructor required.
Course Component:
Lecture - Required
top of page
|
