794-258 Plant Health II

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The objective of this subject is to extend participants' ability to:

• identify common insect and arachnid pests and the damage they cause;

• explain the nature of physical and chemical damage to plants;

• recommend control and preventative practices for those problems;

• explain the principles of integrated pest management;

• describe the selection process involved in the use of horticultural chemicals for arthropod pest control and subsequent implications of their usage.

The content includes: Entomology - Factors affecting the outbreak of pest infestations, arthropod evolution and classification, insect metamorphosis, insect structure and function, selected insect life cycles, disease transmission, pest management, control options of selected pests, selection of horticultural chemicals as insecticides and miticides, and implications derived from their usage; pesticide technology; fumigation; management strategies for resistance; establishment of control thresholds in amenity horticulture; insecticide formulation and toxicological considerations; insect defence systems. Students will be required to prepare a collection of fifteen pests with recommendations for control.

Assessment

150 minute examination (50%); practicals (30%); entomology collection (20%).