AD2CAY: Crop Agronomy

Module code: AD2CAY

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2, Semester 1 and Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Paola Tosi, email: p.tosi@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE AD1APS OR TAKE AP1A12 (Compulsory)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

To enable students to manage a UK cereal crop at a basic level, and to understand the nutritional cycles and the rationale for agrochemical use behind arable production. 

The module should interest anyone whose career will involve arable crop production but will be of particular relevance to those wishing to develop as agronomists or farm managers. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate factual knowledge of seasonal relationships and growth patterns of selected arable crops, including small grain cereals, oilseed rape, and selected legumes
2. Assess costs and benefits of a management action (particularly use of fertilizers) in monetary, yield and quality terms, but also effects on the wider environment
3. Construct rotations plans with a full understanding of the constraints on these, including tillage effects
4. Demonstrate elementary factual knowledge of some major disease, pest and weed problems and ability to discuss methods of management in selected cases

Module content

Botanical features, life cycle, husbandry and end uses of small grain cereals (wheat, barley, oat, rye, and triticale), pulses (fava bean, peas, soyabean), oil seed rape and potato.  

Soil’s nutrients cycle. Soil tillage. Crops main pests and diseases. Pesticides classes, mode of action and pesticide resistance. Crop rotations. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Learning will be via a combination of in-class lectures and field practicals. On-line pre-learning material will be made available before each in-class lecture and revised and further contextualized during lectures via group discussions and practical exercises. You will be given the exciting task of managing your own cereal crop at the experimental farm as part of in-course work; this will require you to make all husbandry decisions for your crop, to collect field data in the course of the growing season to track crop progress, to analyse the collected data to  assess the impact of your decision making on crop yield, quality and economical return. 

Study hours

At least 45 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

• Formative MCQ at the beginning of the second semester
• Classroom based problem sessions on fertiliser use
• Layered timeline

Reassessment

Additional costs