NES3004 : Agronomy Field Course
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Paul Bilsborrow
- Other Staff: Mr Simon Parker
- Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To give students the opportunity to develop, with guidance:
- familiarity with different kinds of pests
- skills in identifying animal pests, weeds, and diseases in the field
- experience in assessing factors affecting their impact
- exposure to leading farm businesses within the industry
- engagement with recognised experts within the arable industry
- potential to acquire understand current challenges in crop production
- an introduction to the fresh produce sector
Outline Of Syllabus
The Module takes the form of a two week intensive field course.
1. Diseases
- Diagnosis of diseases of agricultural and horticultural crops, weeds, and wild plants. Diversity of fungal
pathogens.
- Quantitative assessment of disease severity as influenced by plant disease resistance and chemical control.
- Analysis of patterns of disease spread by dispersal of spores.
2. Weeds
- Identification of weeds in arable crops and grassland.
- Association of different weed species with different weed control programmes in conventional systems and
lower-input, integrated systems.
3. Pests
- Identification of the major pests of arable crops
4. Managing a arable focused farming business
5. An introduction to the Fresh Produce sector
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 44:00 | 44:00 | Preparation for field course report |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 7 | 8:00 | 56:00 | Two week intensive Field course |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
This module is a two week intensive field course which revolves around site and industry visits. Fieldwork (site visits) links the applied nature of the module to applied research and commercial agricultural production.
The identification and control of the major pests of arable crops is developed via a series of field visits to commercial farms, industry, research organisation and demonstration events.
Communication skills are developed via engagement with leading industry experts.
The field course helps to develop numerical skills in terms of the handling of plant material, statistical analysis and data interpretation.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | 100 | Field course report |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The Field Course Report promotes and develops the principles of identification of the major arable weeds present in UK agriculture, their importance, life-cycle and the options available for their control.
The Report evaluates the effect of variety and fungicide programme on disease levels, growth and yield of wheat via the requirement for statistical analysis and interpretation of data.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- NES3004's Timetable