AGRO -- Agronomy  

AGRO 401 Pest Management Strategies for Turfgrass (3) Prerequisite: AGRO 305. Interdisciplinary view of weed, disease, and insect management from an agronomy perspective. Plant responses to pest invasion, diagnosis of pest-related disorders, and principles of weed, disease and insect suppression through cultural, biological and chemical means are discussed.

AGRO 402 Sports Turf Management (3) Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: AGRO 305 and AGRO 401. Sports turf management, including design, construction, soil modification, soil cultural techniques, pesticide use, fertilization, and specialized equipment.

AGRO 403 Crop Breeding (3) Pre- or corequisite: BIOL 222 or equivalent or permission of department. A review of genetic principles and descriptions of contemporary and traditional methods of breeding self-pollinated, cross-pollinated, and vegetatively propagated crop plants.

AGRO 406 Forage Crops (3) Prerequisite: BIOL 105. Recommended: BIOL 106. World grasslands and their influence on early civilizations; current impact on human food supply; role of forages in soil conservation and a sustainable agriculture. Production and management requirements of major grass and legume species for silage and pasture for livestock feed. Cultivar development; certified seed production and distribution.

AGRO 407 Cereal and Oil Crops (3) Pre- or corequisites: BIOL 105 and AGRO 101. A study of principles of production for corn, small grains, rice, millets, sorghums, and soybeans and other oil seed crops. A study of seed production, processing, distribution and federal and state seed control programs of corn, small grains and soybeans.

AGRO 410 Commercial Turf Maintenance and Production (3) Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: AGRO 305 or permission of department. Agronomic programs and practices used in hydroseeding, commercial lawn care, sod production and seed production. Current environmental, regulatory and business management issues confronting the turfgrass industry.

AGRO 411 Principles of Soil Fertility (3) Prerequisite: AGRO 202 or equivalent. Soil factors affecting plant growth and quality with emphasis on the bio-availability of mineral nutrients. The management of soil systems to enhance plant growth by means of crop rotations, microbial activities, and use of organic and inorganic amendments

AGRO 413 Soil and Water Conservation and Management (3) Prerequisite: AGRO 202. Importance and causes of soil erosion, methods of soil erosion control. Effects of conservation practices on soil physical properities and the plant root environment. Irrigation and drainage as related to water use and conservation.

AGRO 414 Soil Morphology, Genesis and Classification (4) Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: AGRO 202. Processes and factors of soil genesis. Taxonomy of soils of the world by U.S. System. Soil morphological characteristics, composition, classification, survey and field trips to examine and describe soils.

AGRO 415 Soil Survey and Land Use (3) Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: AGRO 202. Evaluation of soils in the uses of land and the environmental implications of soil utilization. Interpretation of soil information and soil surveys as applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural problems. Incorporation of soil data into legislation, environmental standards and land use plans.

AGRO 417 Soil Physics (3) Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisites: AGRO 202 and a course in physics; or permission of department. A study of physical properties of soils with special emphasis on relationship to soil productivity.

AGRO 421 Soil Chemistry (4) Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: AGRO 202. The chemistry and composition of mineral and organic colloids in soils, including ion exchange, oxidation-reduction, acidity, surface charge, and solution chemistry. Lectures and readings pertain to plant nutrition, waste disposal, and groundwater quality.

AGRO 422 Soil Microbiology (3) Prerequisite: AGRO 202, CHEM 104 or permission of department. Relationship of soil microorganisms to the soils' physical and chemical properties. Nitrogen fixation, mycorrhizae-plant interactions and microbially mediated cycling.

AGRO 423 Soil-Water Pollution (3) Prerequisites: AGRO 202 and CHEM 104 or permission of department. Reaction and fate of pesticides, agricultural fertilizers, industrial and animal wastes in soil and water with emphasis on their relation to the environment.

AGRO 425 Terrestrial Bioremediation (3) Prerequisite: one course in biology and CHEM 103 or permission of department. Biologically based methods for the remediation of contaminated soil. Bioremediation using bacteria, fungi and higher plants, of both organic and inorganic contaminants in soil will be addressed.

AGRO 440 Crop, Soils, and Civilization (3) Role and importance of crop and soil resources in the development of human civilization. History of crop and soil use and management as they relate to the persistence of ancient and modern cultures.

AGRO 441 Sustainable Agriculture (3) Environmental, social and economic needs for alternatives to the conventional, high-input farming systems which currently predominate in industrial countries. Strategies and practices that minimize the use of non-renewable resources.

AGRO 444 Remote Sensing of Agriculture and Natural Resources (3) Interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. Application of remote sensing technology to agriculture and natural resource inventory, monitoring and management and related environmental concerns.

AGRO 451 Crop Culture and Development (3) Pre- or corequisite: PBIO 420. Application of basic plant physiology to crop production. Photosynthesis, respiration, mineral nutrition, water and temperature stress, and post-harvest physiology.

AGRO 453 Weed Science (3) Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Weed identification, ecology, and control (cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical methods).

AGRO 454 Air and Soil Pollution Effects on Crops (3) Effects of air pollutants such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, acid rain, etc., and soil pollutants such as toxic metals, pesticides, on the growth, productivity and quality of crops.

AGRO 461 Hydric and Hydromorphic Soils (3) Two hours of lecture per week plus four field trips scheduled on Saturdays. Prerequisite: AGRO 202. The soils of wetlands, including hydrology, chemistry, genesis, and taxonomy. Understanding and application of Federal and regional guidelines to hydromorphic soils with emphasis on interpretations based on field observations. Saturday field trips.

AGRO 483 Plant Breeding Laboratory (2) Prerequisites: AGRO 403 and permission of department. Current plant breeding research being conducted at The University of Maryland and USDA at Beltsville. Discussion with plant breeders about pollination techniques, breeding methods, and program achievements and goals. Field trips to selected USDA laboratories.

AGRO 499 Special Problems in Agronomy (1-3) Prerequisites: AGRO 202, AGRO 406, AGRO 407 or permission of department. A detailed study, including a written report of an important problem in agronomy.

AGRO 601 Advanced Crop Breeding I (2) Prerequisite: AGRO 403 or equivalent. Genetic and cytogenetic theories as related to plant breeding including interspecific and intergeneric hybridization, polyploidy, and sterility mechanisms.

AGRO 602 Advanced Crop Breeding II (2) Prerequisites: AGRO 601 and a graduate statistics course. Quantitative inheritance in plant breeding including genetic constitution of a population, continuous variation, estimation of genetic variances, heterosis and inbreeding, heritability, and population movement.

AGRO 608 Research Methods (1-4) Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 4 credits. Development of research viewpoint by detailed study and report on crop and soil research of the Maryland Agriculture Experiment Station or review and discussion of literature on specific agricultural problems or new research techniques.

AGRO 711 Advanced Plant-Soil Relationship (2) Prerequisite: AGRO 411. Integration of the biological, physical, and chemical aspects of plant growth in soils.

AGRO 722 Advanced Soil Chemistry (3) Prerequisites: AGRO 302 and permission of both department and instructor. A continuation of AGRO 421 with emphasis on soil chemistry of minor elements necessary for plant growth.

AGRO 770 Epidemiology and Plant Disease Management (3) Prerequisite: PBIO 365 or equivalent. Recommended: BIOM 401 or equivalent. Also offered as PBIO 770. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AGRO 770 or PBIO 770. The dynamics of plant pathogen populations as they interact with host populations in time and space is the theoretical basis for the development of disease management strategies. Practical plant disease management including genetic, biological, chemical and physical tactics is discussed in relation to epidemiological principles.

AGRO 789 Advances in Agronomy Research (1-4) Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 4 credits if content differs. A study of recent advances in agronomy research.

AGRO 798 Agronomy Seminar (1) Total credit toward Master of Science degree, 2; toward Ph.D. degree, 6. Prerequisite: permission of both department and instructor. First and second semester.

AGRO 799 Master's Thesis Research (1-6)

AGRO 802 Breeding For Resistance to Plant Pests (3) Prerequisites: ENTM 252, BOTN 221, AGRO 403 or permission of department. Spring semester, alternate years. Development of breeding techniques for selecting and utilizing resistance to insects and diseases in crop plants and the effect of resistance on the interrelationships of host and pest.

AGRO 804 Design and Analysis of Crop Research (4) Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: BIOM 401. Also offered as BIOM 602. Field plot technique, application of statistical analysis to agronomic data, and preparation of the research project.

AGRO 805 Advanced Crop Physiology (2) Prerequisites: BOTN 441 or BOTN 641; plus advanced training in plant sciences. Major emphasis will be on physiological processes affecting yield and productivity of major food fiber and industrial crops of the world. Topics such as photosynthesis, respiration, photorespiration, nitrogen metabolism will be related to crop growth as affected by management decisions. Topics of discussion will also include growth analysis and the use of computer modeling of crop growth by plant scientists.

AGRO 821 Advanced Methods of Soil Investigation (3) Prerequisites: AGRO 302; permission of both department and instructor. First semester, alternate years. An advanced study of the theory of the chemical methods of soil investigation with emphasis on problems involving application of physical chemistry.

AGRO 831 Soil Mineralogy (4) Soil minerals, with emphasis on clay minerals, are studied from the viewpoint of soil genesis and physical chemistry. Mineralogical analyses by x-ray and chemical techniques.

AGRO 832 Advanced Soil Physics (3) Prerequisites: AGRO 417; and permission of both department and instructor. An advanced study of physical properties of soils.