Plant nutrition-fertilization

Course Code
303
ECTS Credits
5
Semester
3rd Semester
Course Category

Compulsory

Compulsory

Professor

Anna Asimakopoulou, Ioanis Salmas

Course Description

The course aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge about the processes of uptake, transport and metabolism of nutrients in the plant, with the ultimate goal of rational fertilization of crops, and consequently increase the quantity and improve the quality of agricultural products produced, while reducing groundwater pollution due to unnecessary fertilization practices. More specifically, the knowledge that students will acquire in the course 'Plant Nutrition - Fertilization' will concern the following topics: essential and beneficial to plant functions inorganic nutrients, nutrient cycles, mechanisms of uptake and movement of nutrients and water by plants, factors affecting plant nutrition, problems of plant nutrition in unfavourable soil environments (very acidic, saline, sodic soils); ways of dealing with them, trophic deficiencies and toxicities of inorganic nutrients in plants (symptoms-causes-treatment), water and soil salinity and effects on plant crops - treatment, determination of plant nutrient status - chemical analysis of plant tissues (leaf diagnostic method), interpretation of analytical results, determination of fertiliser needs, inorganic and organic fertilisers - soil conditioners, methods of fertiliser application, effect of fertilisers on environmental pollution, chemical and slow release fertilisers, nutrition and fertilization of hydroponic crops - troubleshooting.