STOCKSCH 290 M
Scheduled for Fall Semester 2022
Instructor: Elsa Petit, Ph.D.
Contact: Elsa Petit <epetit@umass.edu>
3 credits
COURSE OVERVIEW:
Plant pests include insects, pathogens and weeds. It is estimated that over 40% of the world’s food is lost to insects and pathogens. In developed countries, weeds reduce crop yield by 5% and in undeveloped countries weeds cause a 25% loss. The cost of controlling pests is a significant part of agriculture and control practices have a significant impact on our environment. Sustainable pest management should include both agricultural productivity and ecosystem health. How can plant pests be managed more sustainably? How is sustainability influenced and regulated at the national and international level?
In this online course on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) the students will learn about current techniques to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment and will be asked to think about the future of IPM. Through case studies, students will be asked to think critically about the consequences of management decisions when trying to manage plant pests. As a semester project, students will develop IPM strategies for a specific crop, evaluating current pest management methodologies and proposing improvements for these practices.
PREREQUISITES: STOCKSCH 265 (Sustainable Agriculture) or permission of instructor (contact for permission to enroll)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Understanding the IPM concept and its components
- Recognizing the importance of ecological and evolutionary knowledge in IPM success
- Understanding the methods used to manage plant pests
- Increasing student ability to think critically about sustainable agriculture and pest management decisions
- Developing the ability to design a sustainable pest management program for a given crop
TEXTBOOK:
Mary Louise Flint-2012- IPM in Practice: Principles and Methods of Integrated Pest Management– Second Edition, UCANR Publications – Garden pests – 292 pages
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/IPMPROJECT/ADS/manual_ipminpractice.html#ordering
GRADING:
Readiness quizzes 20%: Most weeks, quizzes will evaluate students’ understanding of the subject. Each quiz will be posted on Blackboard and will cover the course material (power point slides and lecture notes).
Forum requirement 20%: Readings from the textbook or other sources will be assigned each week. Each student will post to the class website a question or opinion based on the readings, then respond to the posting of another student. Strong opinions and civility are strongly encouraged.
IPM workbook 30%. Each student or group of student will choose a cultivated plant, aka a crop, or cropping system of interest and will build an IPM workbook for that cropping system. For each course section, the student will be asked a few questions in relation to that section to answer in the context of her/his crop.
Final exam 30%: The final exam will cover all of the semester’s material.
The scale will be as follows:
A = 95-100
A- = 90-94
B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72
D+ = 67-69
D = 60-66
F = 59 or below
ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT:
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements.
ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT:
Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent (http://www.umass.edu/honesty/).
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This class fulfills requirements for all three of the online programs offered by the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture in Sustainable Food and Farming:
All online classes cost $482/credit.
Sustainable Food and Farming Online 