CFANS 3001:
Pests and Crop Protection
Plant Disease
Biology and Management
( link for pdf format )
Office: 310 Stakman Hall
E-mail: bsteffen@umn.edu
Telephone: (612) 625-4735
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday at 9:30-10:30 AM, Friday at 10:30 AM-11:30 AM, and by appointment.
Credits: Three (3) for the entire semester consisting of the three five-week modules
Teaching assistants: Todd Burnes Matt Bakker
217 Stakman Hall 406 Stakman Hall
E-mail: burne002@umn.edu E-mail: bakke183@umn.edu
Telephone: (612) 625-6231
Prerequisites: The prerequisite for this course is General Biology (Biol 1009), an equivalent general biology course, or by instructor consent.
Textbook: No textbook is
required for this module. Instead, I
will assign readings from two primary texts, plus several other sources. To access the electronic reserve for the
class, go to http://eres.lib.umn.edu/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=155
At copyright acceptance page, enter course password (28edrha) and click "Accept". Click on the Documents tab. You will now see a list of pdf files with the author name, book name, and page numbers; these are your assigned readings organized according to my lecture schedule. In some cases, a single reading passage is divided into several smaller pdf files to hasten download time. You may elect to save a tree by not printing the article and reading it on the computer. The primary texts of Agrios and Lucas are also on reserve in the Plant Pathology Library (395 Borlaug Hall).
Primary reference texts:
Lucas,
J. A. 1998. Plant
Pathology and Plant Pathogens. Third Edition.
Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford, England.
Agrios,
G. N. 1997. Plant
Pathology. Fourth Edition. Academic
Press, New York, NY.
Course objectives: Plants
directly or indirectly provide all of the food upon which humans and animals
depend. Unfortunately, diseases are a
major constraint to the productivity and quality of food and fiber crops. Plant pathology is the study of organisms and
environmental factors that cause disease.
The overall goal of this course is to introduce students to the concept
of plant health. In this course, I
expect students to:
1) Develop a basic understanding of plant diseases, their cause, and management;
2) Develop an understanding of the basic biology of plant pathogens--i.e. how they cause disease, methods of spread, and survival;
3) Develop an understanding of the procedures involved in making a plant disease diagnosis;
4) Develop a knowledge base to
critically evaluate issues in the popular media dealing with plant health.
Grading: One third
(33% or 300 of the 900 total points) of your grade in CFANS 3001 is based on
this five-week Plant Pathology module.
Within this module, you will be evaluated on the following assignments:
|
Assignment or Exercise |
Description of Assignment or Exercise &
Due Date |
Total
Points |
Points
Scored |
|
Signs/Symptoms
Exercise |
Complete a worksheet
on pathogen signs & disease symptoms
Due: March 9 |
25 |
|
|
Disease Management
Exercise |
Complete a worksheet
on disease management systems Due: March 28 |
25 |
|
|
Lecture Quiz #1 |
On lecture and
reading material from February 19, 21, and 26th Due:
February 28 |
25* |
|
|
Lab Worksheet #1 |
On laboratory
material from March 2 Due: March 2 |
25* |
|
|
Lecture Quiz #2 |
On lecture and
reading material from February 28 and March 5 Due:
March 7 |
25* |
|
|
Lab Worksheet #2 |
On laboratory material
from March 9th Due: March 9 |
25* |
|
|
Lab Report |
Koch’s Postulates
Experiment Due: March 30 |
30 |
|
|
Class Participation |
Answering oral
questions given in lecture/lab |
10 |
|
|
Lecture Final Exam |
Comprehensive 50
minute exam with multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions Due:
March 28 |
70 |
|
|
Lab Final Exam |
Comprehensive 125
minute exam highlighting disease specimens with multiple choice, short
answer, and essay questions Due: March 30 |
65 |
|
|
|
Total Points =
|
300 |
|
*You
may drop one of the four quizzes/worksheets given. Thus, your grade will be based on the scores
of your top three quiz/worksheet scores (i.e. a total of 75 points is possible
for the quizzes)
Letter grade assignments: This will be
based on a straight percentage basis where:
A=90-100% (270-300 total points)
B=80-89% (240-269 total points)
C=70-79% (210-239 total points)
D=60-69% (180-209 total points)
F=0-59% (below 180 total points)
The University of Minnesota Uniform Grading and Transcript Policy can be found at
http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/senate/documents/policy/gradingpolicy.html
A grade of “A” represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the
level necessary to meet course requirements; a grade of “B” represents
achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course
requirements; a grade of “C” represents achievement that meets the course
requirements in every respect; a grade of “D” represents achievement that is
worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements;
and a grade of “F” represents failure
and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of
achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was
no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be
awarded an incomplete. An incomplete is
assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary
circumstances (e.g., hospitalization), a student is prevented from completing
the work of the course on time. An
incomplete requires a written agreement between instructor and student.
Class participation: Class participation is strongly encouraged! If you have questions or comments regarding anything discussed in class, please share them with the instructor and the rest of your fellow classmates. We can all learn together in this way.
Laboratories involve time-sensitive specimens, a great deal of preparation time, and instructor/teaching assistant participation. Attendance at all laboratory sessions is mandatory. If you miss a laboratory session, you cannot make up the work.
Making up a missed exam. To be eligible for a make-up exam, quiz or worksheet, you must have a verifiable excuse (e.g. a doctor’s note) and contact the instructor at least 24 hours before the exercise is given.
Penalty for late work. The penalty for handing in assignments past the due date will be 20% of the total assigned points for that exercise per day.
Extra credit: Students who follow attendance guidelines and complete all course assignments have the option of undertaking extra credit projects. Possible projects include: the creation of a web page on a plant pathology topic or development of an extension bulletin. Check with the instructor for extra credit projects.
Academic misconduct: The
Conduct Code of the University of Minnesota details matters of scholastic
dishonesty to include the following: submission of false records of academic
achievement; cheating on assignments or examinations; plagiarizing; altering,
forging or misusing a University academic record; taking, acquiring or using test
materials without faculty permission; acting alone or in cooperation with
another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or
professional endorsement.
Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. At times, you will be allowed (and expected) to work together in pairs or teams. However, whenever you turn in an assignment, it must be your own work! Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for this module shall be grounds for awarding a failing grade for the entire course.
Discrimination and sexual harassment: The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, age, or veteran status. Questions regarding these issues should be directed to the appropriate officer in the university's equal opportunity office (419 Morrill Hall, Phone: 624-9547) or see http://www.eoaffact.umn.edu/.
Additional plant pathology reference materials:
Dingra, O. D. and Sinclair, J. B. 1995. Basic Plant Pathology Methods. 2nd
edition. CRC Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
Holliday,
P. 1990. A Dictionary
of Plant Pathology. Cambridge University Press, New
York, NY.
Horst, R. K. 1990. Westcott’s
Plant Disease Handbook. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, New York.
Pirone, P.P., Dodge, B. O., and Rickett, H. W. 1960. Diseases and Pests of Ornamental Plants. 3rd
edition. The Ronald Press Company, New York, NY.
Schumann,
G. L. 1993. Plant Diseases: Their Biology and Social Impact. American Phytopathological Society Press, St. Paul, MN.
Shurtleff, M. C., and Averre, C. W. 1997. Glossary of Plant-Pathological
Terms. American
Phytopathological Society Press, St. Paul, MN.
Hawksworth, D. L., Kirk, P. M., Sutton, B. C., and
Pegler, D. N. 1995. Ainsworth & Bisby’s
Dictionary of the Fungi. International Mycological
Institute, Wallingford, UK.
General plant pathology web site for information and searches:
Plant
Pathology Internet Guide Book (PPIGB) http://www.pk.uni-bonn.de/ppigb/