Course Content
Lectures
- Plant Breeding: overview and historical perspectives
- Genetic variation. The genetic basis of plant breeding. Population structure of self- and cross-fertilized plants.
- Quantitative traits. Components of variation of quantitative traits. Heredity, response to selection, inbreeding depression, heterosis. Genetic effects.
- Plant reproduction. Reproductive systems. Introduction to reproduction and autogamy. Allogamy, hybridization, clonal propagation. Germplasm for breeding.
- Pollination, self-incompatibility, male sterility, chemical male sterility.
- Plant breeding objectives, Yield and morphological traits. Quality traits.
- Breeding self-pollinated species.: Mass selection, pure line selection, pedigree selection, bulk population, single seed descent. Backcross breeding. Breeding clonal species.
- Breeding cross-pollinated species. Recurrent selection for inter and intra population breeding.
- Hybrid cultivars. Heterosis. Synthetic cultivars.
- Molecular Breeding. Mapping of genes, molecular markers, marker assisted selection.
- Double Haploids. Genetically modified plants.
- Mutational Breeding, polyploidy, wide crossings.
- Registration of cultivars, Marketing and social issues, Legal and regulatory issues.
Laboratory exercises
- Calculation of the components of variance for quantitative traits
- Coefficient of heritability under the narrow and broad sense. Estimation of selective response and selection differential.
- Artificial pollination and crossing
- Evaluation of phenotypic variation, morphological descriptors.
- Genetic variation and molecular markers
- Calculation of heterosis
Course Content
Lectures
- Nomenclature, definitions and terminology in the field of Agricultural Pharmacology.
- Historical review of the discovery and use of Plant Protection Products (PI) and biocides.
- Labels and legislation.
- Standardization and methods of handling and application.
- Classification and description based on the target organism (eg insecticides, fungicides, herbicides) and their uses (seed, soil, spraying, etc.).
- Toxicological Properties and personal protective equipment.
- Ecotoxicity, impact on the environment and residues in agricultural products.
- Selectivity and toxicity.
- Classification and description of insecticides (acaricides and nematicides) based on the biochemical mode of action
- Classification and description of fungicides based on their biochemical mode of action.
- Classification and description of herbicides based on their biochemical mode of action.
- Classification and description of plant regulating compounds.
- Classification and description of biocides.
Laboratory exercises
- Selecting the appropriate plant protection product.
- Analysis and decoding of the plant protection product label.
- Dose Calculation Problems.
- Rational use of plant protection products.
- Hygiene and safety rules for the preparation and application of plant protection products.
- Management of packaging and residues of plant protection products.
Course Content
Lectures
- Introduction
- Water budget
- Soil hydraulic properties
- Soil water dynamics
- Introduction to fluid mechanics
- Hydrostatics
- Hydrodynamics
- Water flow in pipes (Part I)
- Water flow in pipes (Part II)
- Water flow in open channels
- Drainage of soils (Part I)
- Drainage of soils (Part II)
- Design parameters of drainage networks
Laboratory exercises
- Laboratory exercise 1: Creation and processing of water balance variables timeseries
- Laboratory exercise 2: Sampling and determination of soil hydraulic properties – Direct and indirect methods for the determination of soil moisture and soil water pressure head
- Laboratory exercise 3: Determination of the soil water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity
- Laboratory exercise 4: Pipes and materials– Calculation of frictional pressure losses, Selection of the optimal pipe sizes, Moody diagram
- Laboratory exercise 5: Open channels and hydraulic constructions – Flow measurement, – Calculation of water speed and flow rate in streams and open channels
- Laboratory exercise 6: Drainage pipes and drainage networks. Measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity in the laboratory and in the field. Calculation of drainage pipes equidistance
- Laboratory exercise 7: Recapitulation – Exemplary solution of exercises
Course Content
Lectures
Plant hormones:
- Regulation of plant growth and development, endogenous hereditary and exogenous factors.
- Classes of Plant Hormones. Chemical Structure, Biosynthesis, Degradation, Physiological Role:
- Growth promoting plant hormones: Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinins.
- Growth retarders and inhibitors: Abscisic Acid, Ethylene.
- Chemical growth regulators.
- The use of plant Hormones in plant-applications
- Phytoestrogens
Plant Nutrition:
- Macro and Micronutrients
- Factors Affecting Plant Nutrition
- Determination of nutritional status of plants
- Photoperiodism
Plant stress:
- Abiotic stress factors
- Extreme temperatures stress, nutritional stress.
- Water stress, Salinity, etc..
- Effects of stress on crops, stress control practice.
- Biotic stress factors, Allelopathy
Laboratory exercises
- Practical application of phytohormones to vegetables
- Practical application of plant hormones in arboriculture
- Effect of hormones on seed germination and rooting of cuttings
- Malnutrition toxicities
- Photoperiodism-applications
- Coping with stressful situations
Course Content
Lectures
- Soil nutrients and availability
- Soil microorganisms and fertility
- Organic materials and fertility – carbon sequestration.
- Biological and physicochemical indicators of soil quality/fertility.
- Relationships between nutrient availability and plant growth/yield
- The concept of fertilizer – Types of fertilizers – Properties
- Diagnostic criteria of fertilization needs
- Inorganic – Organic fertilization – Foliar fertilization
- Estimation of the required quantities of fertilizers
- Utilization of Organic Waste
- Effect of fertilization on the quantity of production, the quality of the produced products, and human health
- Economic view of fertilizers
- Fertilization in the context of integrated agriculture in Greece and the European Union
Laboratory exercises
- Sample preparation for soil fertility assessment – Safety measures
- Determination of soil physical properties for assessing fertility
- Determination of soil chemical properties for soil fertility assessment
- Preparation and calculation of water-soluble fertilizers
- Quality control of fertilizers
- Identification of fertilization units
Course Content
Lectures
- An introduction to agricultural experimentation. Basic concepts and definitions.
- The experimental plot. Size and shape of experimental plots and blocks. Heterogeneity of experimental field, examples.
- Field experiments, greenhouse experiments, laboratory testing. Randomization – Replication – Field testing
- Analysis of Variance, confidence intervals, Type I and II errors.
- Single factor designs. Complete randomized design. Design, construction of an experiment, comparing means, Analysis of data extracting results. Examples.
- Randomized Block Design. Design, construction of an experiment, comparing means, Analysis of data extracting results. Examples.
- The Latin square design. Design, construction of an experiment, comparing means, Analysis of data extracting results. Examples.
- Subsampling, anterior and posterior comparisons
- Factorial designs. Pros and cons of factorial analysis. Test of assumptions. Examples.
- Correlation analysis
- Linear Regression Analysis
- Split plot experiments: Design, construction of an experiment, comparing means, Analysis of data extracting results. Examples.
- Data transformation.