PSC5530

Students will gain understanding of the concepts of soil health and fertility and of  how to manage soils to maintain and improve soil quality, health and fertility.

Students will learn the nutrient elements required for plant growth and be familiar with the visual symptoms and diagnostic methods to identify nutrient deficiencies.

Students will understand the mechanisms by which essential nutrients are supplied to plants from the soil: mass flow, diffusion and root interception and how these interact with water availability.

Students will be able to describe the major physical and chemical forms of the essential nutrient elements in soils and the factors affecting their availability to plant roots.

Students will be able to solve quantitative problems concerning the use of chemical fertilizers and organic materials to improve nutrient supply to plants and use these in case study problems.

Students will use technical writing skills to find, understand and interpret primary source materials on a variety of topics related to soils as the medium for plant growth and soil health.