791-008 Plant Physiology and Nutrition

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

One Plant Management Elective.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The objective of this subject is to enable students to:

• explain the plant or plant parts in relation to physiological based functions;

• gain technical expertise in the plant production area on the understanding of some of the important physiological processes and nutritional requirements of plants;

• explain the relationships between mineral nutrition and plant growth and to integrate these concepts and practices of plant production to improve productivity.

The content includes: The relations of plant physiology to physical sciences. Internal and environmental control on seed germination, growth and development, interaction between internal and environmental factors. Water balance - water uptake by plants, plant water use and measurement of water loss, plant responses to water stress. Energy storage - Photophosphorylation, carbon pathways in c3 and c4 species of plants, photorespiration and its effect on final yield. General relationships between mineral nutrition and plant growth, nutrient uptake, pathways and functions. Nutrition and yield responses in plants, effect of nutrients on the vegetative and reproductive development, nutrient supply and quality of plant products. Criteria of essentially, concept of nutrient concentration in plant, plant analysis for assessing the nutrient requirements, utility and limitations of plant analysis in developing fertiliser strategies.

Assessment

Assignment of 4000 words (50%); two hour examination (50%).