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for California State University, Fresno.

Department of Plant Science

COURSES

• Crop Science Agronomy and Vegetable Crops (CRSC)
• Horticulture (HORT)
• Mechanized Agriculture (MEAG)
• Ornamental Horticulture (OH)
• Plant Health (PLTH)
• Plant Science (PLANT)
• Soil and Water (SW)
• Agriculture (AGRI) - Graduate Courses
• Plant Science (PLANT) --- Graduate Courses
• Agriculture (AGRI) --- In-Service Courses
  

Note: Active immunization against tetanus (available through Student Health Services) is a prerequisite for registration in any laboratory course in agriculture and for any student employment within the University Agricultural Laboratory.

Note: Cost to the student of extended field trips varies each semester depending upon itinerary. The student should ask the course instructor.

Crop Science -- Agronomy and Vegetable Crops (CRSC)

CRSC 1. Introduction to Crop Science (3 units)
Not open to students with credit in upper-division CRSC courses. Principles of production for cereal, row, forage and vegetable crops. Culture, insect and disease control, harvesting, storage, and marketing. S

CRSC 101. Row Crops (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, CRSC 1. The culture of beans, cotton, sugar beets, and oil crops; varieties, nutrition, insect, disease, and weed control; harvest, storage, uses, and marketing. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F

CRSC 102. Cereal and Forage Crops(3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, CRSC 1. The culture of alfalfa, barley, corn, sorghum, oats, rice, rye and wheat; varieties, nutrition, insect disease, and weed control; harvest, storage, uses, and marketing. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

CRSC 105. Range Ecology and Managmenet (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 10 or 11, CRSC 1. Identification of range and pasture plants; carrying capacity; methods of range and pasture improvement, grazing management, water development, rodents, fertilization, reseeding, brush removal; mountain range resources. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

CRSC 111. Vegetable Production (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, CRSC 1. Cultural practices, harvesting, processing, and marketing of vegetables of economic importance to California and the San Joaquin Valley. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Field trips fee, $65) F

CRSC 115. Organic Crop Production (3 units)
Prerequisites: BOT 10, CRSC 1. Cultural practices, harvesting, processing, and marketing of organically grown crops of economic importance to California and the San Joaquin Valley. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Formerly PLANT 170T)

Horticulture (HORT)

HORT 1. Introduction to Fruit Science (3 units)
Not open to students with credit in upper-division HORT courses. Origin and distribution of grape and tree fruit crops. Botanical and commercial classification of grapes and tree fruits and their culture in California. F (Formerly VTF 1)

HORT 110. Fruit Species of California (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11 or HORT 1 or OH 1. Fruit and nut species common to California, their adaptation and uses. S (Formerly VTF 110)

HORT 112. Principles of Pomology II (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11 or HORT 1. Pruning, fruit and vegetative development, pollination, rootstocks, propagation, and nutrition. Crop fundamentals of spring cultural practices. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F (Formerly VTF 112)

HORT 113. Citrus and Subtropical Fruits (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11 or HORT 1. Geographic distribution, climatic and soil adaptation of subtropical fruit crops. Fruit and vegetative development and cultural practices for globally important fruit crops. Emphasis on citrus and olive. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F odd (Formerly VTF 113)

Mechanized Agriculture (MEAG)

Note: Suitable eye protection is required in many MEAG laboratory classes.

MEAG 1. Introduction to Agricultural Mechanics (3 units)
Selection, care, and use of common tools, projects of wood and metal; mechanical skills in the field of agriculture. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Course fee, $35) FS (Formerly MEAG 1S)

MEAG 3. Agricultural Tractors (3 units)
Study of functions, physical capabilities, applications, economics, and improvement of tractors. Testing and analysis of tractors in laboratory and field conditions to maximize efficiencies. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours; 5 hours field operation) F

MEAG 5. Power Equipment Safety (1 unit)
Safety training for operation of power equipment. Meets requirements of Senate Bill 198 and University Agricultural Laboratory (UAL) for classroom safety instruction on using tractors and similar power equipment. Satisfactory completion meets safety training portion requirement of the UAL Tractor License. CR/NC grading only. (16 hours, meets four consecutive times) FS

MEAG 20. Agricultural Machinery and Equipment (3 units)
The study of functions and applications of machinery and equipment. Setup, calibration, analysis and adjustment of agricultural machinery common to the San Joaquin Valley under field conditions will be emphasized. Equipment will be evaluated for efficiency and effective performance. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

MEAG 50. Metallurgical Processes (3 units)
(See IT 71.) Fundamentals of metallurgy; properties and characteristics of metals; survey of metal welding processes, equipment, and procedures; theory-discussion and laboratory experience in oxygen-fuel welding, cutting, brazing, and shielded metallic arc welding. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Course fee, $50) FS

MEAG 53. Electricity and Electronics (3 units)
(See IT 52.) F

MEAG 103. Electro-Hydraulics (3 units)
Prerequisites: MEAG 3. Theory and practice in the operation, service, adjustment, and function of the component parts of fluid power systems. Design application of systems to agricultural equipment. Major emphasis is on computerized electronic controls of hydraulic systems. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S odd

MEAG 112. Power Systems Technology (3 units)
Prerequisite: MEAG 3. Principles of the internal combustion engine; overhauling, repairing, and adjusting of gasoline, diesel, and LPG farm engines. Practices in repair technology and engine replacement as well as cost analysis decisions. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S even

MEAG 113. Power Transmissions (3 units)
Prerequisite: MEAG 3. Theory and operation of electro-hydraulic assist transmissions, synchronized transmissions; gear transmissions; clutches; brakes; final drives, selecting devices, mechanical front wheel drives, four wheel drive, and rubber/steel track drives. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F even

MEAG 114. Small Gasoline and Compact Diesel Engines (3 units)
Prerequisite: MEAG 1. Theory of operation, maintenance, and repair of small gasoline and compact diesel internal combustion engines. Emphasizes use of small engines in agricultural education. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) FS

MEAG 120. Advanced Farm Machinery (3 units)
Prerequisite: MEAG 3. Theory, operation, and management economics of planters, tillage tools, harvesting, spraying equipment, and precision farming equipment. Managerial responsibilities under state and federal mandates will be emphasized. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F odd

Ornamental Horticulture (OH)

OH 1. Introduction to Ornamental Horticulture (3 units)
Not open to students with credit in upper-division OH courses. Planting and maintenance of the home landscape; selection, planting, fertilization, and pruning of plants; lawn planting and care. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) FS

OH 4. Floral Design (3 units)
Principles and rules of design and color using plants as a media; European and Japanese influences; emphasis on American line-mass and contemporary designs. An assortment of arrangements are made in lab. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Course fee, $50) S

OH 104. Greenhouse and Nursery Crop Production (4 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, OH 1. Fundamentals of greenhouse and nursery crop production. Emphasis on sustainable and economically viable production and management systems for significant flower, foliage, and nursery crops. (3 lecture, 3 lab hours; field trips) F

OH 108. Woody Plant Materials (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, OH 1. Survey of woody plant materials, including identification, growth habits, and cultural requirements. Emphasis on plants used in the California landscape. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours; field trips) F

OH 109. Herbaceous Plant Materials (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11, OH 1. Survey of herbaceous plant materials, including identification, growth habits, and cultural requirements. Emphasis on plants used in California landscapes, botanical gardens, and arboreta. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F

OH 110. Turfgrass Production and Management (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, OH 1. Production and maintenance of grass for lawns, public parks, public institutions, playgrounds, playing fields, golf courses, bowling greens; identification of turfgrasses and turfgrass seed. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours; field trip) F

Plant Health (PLTH)

PLTH 102. Pesticides (3 units)
Prerequisite: CHEM 3B or 8. Typical uses, modes of action, mechanisms of selectivity, environmental interactions, and user safety of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, nematocides, rodenticides, and plant growth regulators. Emphasis on effective and safe use of agricultural chemicals by reading labels and following laws and regulations. F

PLTH 103. Economic Entomology (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 10 or 12. Biology, ecology, management and taxonomy of economically important arthropods, with special emphasis on agricultural ecosystems in California. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F

PLTH 104. Plant Nematology (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 1A or 11. Biology, taxonomy, host-parasite relationships, soil ecology, conventional and innovative controls, plant diagnosis and laboratory techniques with emphasis on plant-parasitic species. (Formerly PLPR 104) F

PLTH 105. Weeds (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11, CHEM 3A, 3B, or 8. Vegetation management in California. Identification of common weeds. Fundamentals of preventive, cultural, biological, physical, and chemical weed control methods. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

PLTH 106. Plant Pathology (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 1A or 11. Study of the causal agents, disease cycles, and control of plant diseases. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

PLTH 108. Integrated Pest Management (3 units)
Prerequisite: PLTH 103. Concepts and principles of integrated pest management. Insect and mite pest problems; sampling techniques; biology and ecology of major agricultural crop pests; integration of control measures for management of economic pests. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

PLTH 109. Diagnosis and Control of Plant Diseases (3 units)
Prerequisite: PLTH 106. Techniques for diagnosis of specific diseases in California and selection criteria for control strategies. Students will practice diagnostic techniques and select preventative, cultural, biological, physical, and chemical disease control strategies for major plant diseases. F

PLANT Science (PLANT)

PLANT 99. Introduction to Biometrics (3 units)
Prerequisite: ELM requirement met. Introduction to experimental methods and statistical procedures with particular emphasis on applied biological systems. Design of experiments; statistical analysis and interpretation. F

PLANT 100. Aspects of Crop Productivity (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11. Study of the growth, development, and basic physiological processes of cultivated crops. Environmental influences on crop growth and development processes and management techniques to minimize stresses and maximize crop yield and quality. (Formerly PLANT 170T) FS

PLANT 105. Food, Society, and Environment (3 units)
Prerequisites: G.E. Foundation and Breadth Areas B. Linkages among food production systems, human social behavior, and environmental quality. Basic principles of environmental and agricultural sciences as applied to interrelationships among social value systems, agricultural activities and environmental resources. G.E. Integration IB. FS

PLANT 107. Plant Propagation (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11; CHEM 3A. Principles and practices of propagating plants, sexual and asexual. Seeds, cuttings, layering, grafting, budding, and tissue culture. Propagation media and rooting aids. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours; field trips) S

PLANT 108. Micropropagation (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 11; and BIOL 161 or CHEM 150 or permission of instructor. Principles of plant propagation by aseptic cell and organ culture as a means of rapid cloning, elimination of systemic plant diseases, production of somatic hybrids, ploidy change, and other genetic variants for use in plant breeding. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F

PLANT 110W. Dimensions in Agriculture (3 units)
Prerequisite: satisfactory completion of the ENGL 5B or 10 graduation requirement. Current agricultural problems and developments; nature of agricultural industries in a changing world. Interrelationships among agriculture, government, labor, and the public. Meets the upper-division writing skills requirement for graduation. FS

PLANT 134. Microclimatology (3 units)
(See GEOG 114.)

PLANT 150. Crop Improvement (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 11. Application of genetic, cytological and environmental principles to improvement of plants; heredity and variation in plants, effects of environmental factors, biotechnology, self- and cross-fertilization, principles and results of selection and hybridization in plant improvement. F

PLANT 170T. Topics in Plant Science (1-4; max total 6 per discipline if no topic repeated)
Prerequisite: junior standing. Selected topics in plant science, agronomy, horticulture, and other associated areas. Topics may require lab hours. FS

PLANT 180. Undergraduate Research (1-4; max total 4 units)
Open to juniors and seniors. Exploratory work on a suitable agricultural problem in plant science. Approved for RP grading. FS

PLANT 190. Independent Study
(1-3; max total 6 units)
See Academic Placement-- Independent Study. Approved for RP grading. FS

PLANT 194. Agricultural Internship (1-8; max total 8 units)
Prerequisite: junior standing; approval of faculty adviser and department chair. Field experience in your career specialty that integrates with classroom instruction. Written reports of knowledge and experience gained are required. CR/NC grading only. FS

PLANT 196. Crop Projects (1; max total 4 units)
Prerequisite: MEAG 3, appropriate production course, UAL Tractor License, and permission of instructor. Knowledge gained from classroom instruction applied to field conditions. Students will participate in growing and marketing a crop using the University Agricultural Laboratory. Approved for RP grading. FS

Soil and Water (SW)

SW 2. Agricultural Water (3 units)
Water resources and problems in California; water requirements for agricultural and ornamental crops; irrigation scheduling and application methods. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) F

SW 100. Soils (3 units)
Prerequisites: CHEM 3A, intermediate algebra. Physical, chemical, and biologic properties of soils as a medium for plant growth and as a natural body, factors that influence soil formation; food and fiber production; fertilizer and soil amendment use and environmental impact; soil's role in the biosphere. F

SW 100L. Soils Lab (1 unit)
Prerequisite: SW 100 (may be taken concurrently). Physical, chemical, and biological analysis. Interpretation of field and laboratory data. (3 lab hours) (Saturday field trip) F

SW 100N. Soils in Environment (3 units)
Prerequisites: CHEM 3A. Physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils as the interconnecting link in the biosphere; factors that influence soil formation; role of soil in food and fiber production. Not open to plant science and viticulture and enology majors. No credit if taken after SW 100. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Formerly PLANT 170T)

SW 101. Crop Nutrition (4 units)
Prerequisite: SW 100. Evaluation of nutrient elements in soils; application of fertilizers and organic waste to meet nutrient requirements; soil and plant tissue analysis and interpretation; fertilizer recommendations for different crops. (3 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

SW 104. Soil and Water Management (3 units)
Prerequisites: SW 2, 100 (may be taken concurrently). Management of irrigated soils with particular emphasis on crop water requirements, irrigation scheduling, salinity, and other physical and chemical soil problems of field crops, permanent crops and landscapes. F

SW 111. Irrigation Systems (3 units)
Prerequisite: SW 2. Principles of planning, installation and evaluation of irrigation systems for field crops, permanent crops and ornamental horticulture. Pressurized systems (sprinkler and drip irrigation) emphasized. S

GRADUATE COURSES

The following graduate courses are open to students who have been accepted in to the graduate program. Final semester senior undergraduate students may petition the Division of Graduate Studies to enroll in graduate courses. The petition form, which is available in the department office, must be accompanied by GRE scores to be considered.

Agriculture (AGRI)

AGRI 200. Biometrics in Agriculture (3 units)
Prerequisites: PLANT 99, AGBS 71, or MATH 101, or permission of instructor. Advanced concepts in the design of agricultural experiments. Emphasis is placed on the selection of appropriate designs to meet the objectives of well-planned experiments. Relative merits of various designs and topics in analysis, interpretation, and regression are covered. F

AGRI 201. Agricultural Laboratory Techniques (3 units)
Prerequisite: One of the following courses: BIOL 161, CHEM 105, CHEM 109, or FSC 115. Agricultural problem solving through the application of advances in laboratory technology, crop management, foods, nutrition, soil and water quality. Theory and practice operation of scientific instruments and techniques are taught. Student defined project and report required. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S

AGRI 220. Research Methodology and Communications (3 units)
Critical literature review, quantitative and qualitative research design, scientific writing, questionnaire design and use, and presentation of research results. Ethical research issues examined. Approved for RP grading. F

Plant Science (PLANT)

PLANT 250T. Topics in Plant Science (3; max total 6 units)
Prerequisites: upper-division plant science course appropriate to study topic or permission of instructor. Advanced studies in a selected area of plant science which could include new or emerging issues and technologies. Topics may require lab hours.

PLANT 251. Soil-Plant-Water Relations (3 units)
Prerequisites: BIOL 161 and SW 100. Water flow and solute transport through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC). Soil-plant- water relationships affecting water use efficiency, agriculture productivity, and environmental quality. Management of salinity, drainage, and trace elements. Irrigation scheduling and water quality. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) (Formerly PLANT 253, PLANT 256) S odd

PLANT 252. Plant Nutrition (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 161 and SW 100, or permission of instructor. Soil factors influencing nutrient availability, mineral requirements of plants, and the acquisition and trans-location of nutrients and their role in plant metabolism. Soil and tissue analysis for fertility management. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours) S even

PLANT 255. Advanced Plant Breeding (3 units)
Prerequisites: PLANT 150 or equivalent. Principles and techniques of plant improvement, breeding methods, combining ability, sterility systems, quantitative genetic analysis, heritability estimates, experimental designs for plant breeding.

PLANT 257. Physiology of Cultivated Plants (3 units)
Prerequisite: BIOL 161 or permission of instructor. Plant cell structure and function. Response of cultivated plants to the environment. Physiology and hormonal control of flower induction, fruit set, and development. Review of pertinent current publications. S

PLANT 261. Advanced Plant Health Management (3 units)
Prerequisite: PLTH 108 or permission of instructor. Comprehensive study of anthropod, disease, and weed problems in California cropping systems. Examination of complex relationships among crop plants and other biological organisms in agro-ecosystems design crop management programs that are economically viable and eco-logically sound.

PLANT 270. Seminar in Plant Science (1; max total 4 units)
(Three units required.) Reviews of published and/or original research in the broad areas of crop science, soil and water relations, and plant health. FS

PLANT 290. Independent Study (1-3; max total 6 units)
See Academic Placement -- Independent Study. Approved for RP grading. FS

PLANT 299. Thesis (3; max total 6 units)*
Prerequisite: prior advancement to candidacy. See Criteria for Thesis and Project. Thesis research work and preparation. Submission of an acceptable written thesis for the master's degree. Oral presentation of thesis research required. Must take 3 units in each of two semesters. Approved for RP grading. FS

_________

* For 299C courses, see Graduate Studies.

IN-SERVICE COURSE

(See Catalog Numbering System.)

Agriculture (AGRI)

AGRI 300. Topics in Agriculture (1-3; max total 6 units)
Topics may require lab hours. In-service professional training in selected areas of agriculture.

Plant Science Degrees
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