Crop Protection II

Code: FIT10446M

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Agronomy

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

This course aims at providing students that already possess knowledge on plant pathology, weed science and entomology, diversified information and awareness on a wide number of emergent topics, resulting from new scientific developments. These developments are likely to have implications in a short term at various levels, as management of diseases and pests in agriculture, landscape, human food, human health, and therefore have an important global social impact. Such issues must be recognized, scientifically discussed and explained so that students are aware of problems lying ahead and be prepared to approach them, always having in mind the ultimate goal of responsible production of food, caring for the environment and contribute for the well being of people.

The subject(s) of this course will change every year. Matters to be covered are related to plant protection in several ways, require previously knowledge on several areas, and will be dealt with by different conference speakers. These will be professors from both national and international universities, specialists and policy makers concerning agricultural/food industries related fields. Examples of topics to be addressed: Climate
changes and risk of emergence of new parasites; Biological control of plant parasites in agriculture where do they come from and what is their fate; Biofungicides case studies; Mycotoxins in crops, a threat to animal and human health; Transgenic herbicide - resistance crops: a potential to increase food yield?; Biosecurity and bioterrorism; New strategies to stimulate plant innate defense mechanisms; New developments in epidemic risk forecast; etc.

Teaching Methods

Teaching will be coordinated by the professors above mentioned. The subjects dealt with, in the form of conferences or seminars, are to be delivered by professors from different universities, if possible also from abroad, by specialists and by politicians involved in agriculture/food industry related issues. For this specific funding will be sought. All conferences are to be attended and actively participated by all students. In advance to each conference students will be provided with appropriate literature (scientific papers) on the topic of the conference. Based on that each student will produce a document (one page) stating one or two key questions on the subject of the conference, to be delivered to the supervisor prior to the conference. Afterwards each student will prepare a short summary of the conference. Final evaluation will be based on the quality of the participation in the conference, the document produced on the key question(s) and on the final summary of the conference.