I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Introduction to Agronomy

2. Course Prefix & Number:
AGRO 1100

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 2

Lab Hours: 2

4. Course Description:

This course covers basic agronomy principles and environmental ethics. Students will learn seed quality, plant growth, anatomy of a plant, seed production, and plant response to environmental factors. Relevant agricultural patents and ethical issues will be discussed.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

No placement tests required

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

AGRI 1660, Introduction to Agronomy, Ridgewater College, 3 cr
PLSC 1300, Agronomy I, South Central College, 3 cr

3. Prior Learning - the following prior learning methods are acceptable for this course:

• Demonstration
• Portfolio

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Agricultural Studies AAS Degree

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate written communication skills	Describe their viewpoints or findings in a written report.
Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills	Interview agronomists.
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Conduct soil testing and determine plant nutrient requirements to determine tillage strategies and make appropriate seed selections.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Define agronomy/agronomist and understand the practical work they do;
• Operate a variety of farm technology products;
• Analyze data from a variety of farm technology products;
• Process a mock agricultural patent;
• Defend a mock agricultural patent;
• Categorize plant types;
• Describe plant growth;
• Describe plant growth factors;
• Describe cellular reproduction; and
• Describe photosynthesis.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Introduction to agriculture
• Scope of agriculture industry
• Important events in early history of agriculture
2. What is agronomy?
• Relationship of agronomy with other sciences
• Role of the agronomist
• Factors governing crop production or effecting crop growth
• Internal or genetic factors
• External or environmental factors
3. Soil tilth
• Purposes and types of tillage
• Factors influencing preparatory or tillage operations
• Effects of tillage on soil and plant growth
• Modern concepts of tillage
4. Seeds and germination
• Seed germination
• Factors affecting the germination
• Seed dormancy
• Seed testing
• Seed production organizations
• Seed treatment
5. Sowing
• Sowing time, depth of sowing, spacing and plant population
• Methods of sowing
6. Systems approach
• Types of cropping
• Crop rotation
• Crop mixtures or mixed cropping
• Fallow in rotation
• Criteria determining harvesting a crop and preparation for marketing
7. Weeds and their control
• Weeds and their control - classification of weeds
• Damages or losses caused by weeds or disadvantages of weeds
• Principles of weed control and weed control methods
8. Soil fertility and productivity
• Manures and fertilizers
• Classification of manures and fertilizers
• Compost and composting
• Green manuring
• Artificial or chemical or inorganic fertilizers
• Methods of fertilizer application
9. Soil
• Classification of soils
• Physical properties of soil
• Soil structure
• Density of soil
• Biological and chemical properties of soil

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions

1. Research and present on mechanization in agriculture
• Select a specific mechanization and share its contribution to productivity in agriculture
• Relate the mechanization of agriculture to the growing global population
• Support the theory of need for agronomic practices to grow
2. Perform soil sample in three different soil types
• Perform ribbon test
• Use soil texture triangle to determine soil type
• List and describe features of each determined soil type
• Use web soil survey to determine soil type productivity
• Write a prescriptive plan for desired crop rotation based on soil type only
3. Get soil nutrient analysis from previously taken soil samples
• Amend previous soil recommendation to include both commercial and natural forms of fertilizer
• Provide a nutrient analysis of natural forms of fertilizer
• Determine costs of both forms of fertilizer and expand to a per acre basis for crop rotation
4. Soil tillage lab
• Oral presentation of five different methods of tillage and features of each
• Cost analysis of each tillage operation
• Based on soil types from previous lab, write out a prescriptive tillage plan including timing, soil type, crop preference, and environmental considerations
5. Seed selection
• Identify a crop grown in your home area
• Determine the average yield of desired crop
• List pressures that crop faces in desired area
• Find financial data for average crop yield of desired crop in desired area
• Search and identify 10 hybrid varieties that would be adequate for this crop in this desired region.
• Based on all factors (soils, pressures, environmental and marketing guidelines, agronomic tendancies) – outline and prescribe the 3 top hybrids and defend each hybrid and your chosen rating in written or oral presentation
6. Agronomic utilization and global population growth
• Describe in short written report, population trends for the past 2000 years and looking forward at least 100 years
• Choose two commodities and describe per capita consumption over that same time frame
• Track the production per acre of these two commodities during that time frame
• Predict the increase in demand and potential shortfall that could exist if technology/agronomic advancement does not happen in that time frame
• Share some potential concepts/advancements/that may happen based on past advancements
7. Environmental considerations of agronomic practices
• Land stewardship
• Organics
• Natural propagation
• GMO
• Water quality (surface and groundwater)
• Develop principles of operation for each of these concepts for feeding the growing global population