SOS 4116

Environmental Nutrient Management

 3 credits

Offered Fall Even Years

 

Syllabus and tentative schedule for fall 2008

 

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Samira Daroub

 

Email: sdaroub@ufl.edu

 

Main office:

University of Florida, Everglades Research and Education Center, 3022 E. Palm Beach Rd., Belle Glade, Fl 33430

Tel: (561) 993-1593

Fax: (561) 993-1582

 

In Ft. Lauderdale (Tuesdays only), Office 134,  Fort Lauderdale REC, Tel: (954) 577-6323

                                                                                                     Fax: (954) 475-4125

                       

 

LECTURE:

Tuesdays: 6 – 8: 30 pm at Fort Lauderdale REC, and through Videoconference to participating UF Research and Education Centers.

Internet only section available with Instructor’s approval.

 

TEXTBOOK:

 

Soil Fertility. Henry Foth and Boyd Ellis. 1996. Second Edition. CRC Press ISBN 1566702437.

 

PREREQUISITES:  SOS 3022

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

The course will cover the basic principles of plant growth and plant nutrition. Essential plant nutrients will be examined in relation to their function in plants, physical and chemical diagnosis of their deficiencies in plants and their chemistry in the soil. Topics in this course will include the manufacture, chemical and physical properties and use of fertilizers for supplying plant nutrients, chemical reaction of fertilizers in soils, agronomic and economic criteria for determining fertilization rates, environmental issues with fertilizer use, soil and plant tissue testing, and organic farming.

 

 

OBJECTIVES:

 

1-   To familiarize the student with source of fertilizer materials, fertilizer terminology, chemical and physical properties of commercial fertilizers

 

2-   To understand the basic chemical reaction of fertilizer materials and the fate of these elements.

 

3-   To familiarize the student with the role of plant nutrition in crop production and landscape maintenance.

 

INTERNET ACCESS:

 

Lectures of the class (power point presentations and pdf files), assignments and handouts are posted on the class website on Vista.  Log on to http://lss.at.ufl.edu/ , log on using your gatorlink account. If you have registered for the class, the class will show up under MyWebCT. You need to have a gatorlink account http://www.gatorlink.ufl.edu/ to be able to log on to the class.

 

 

CLASS ATTENDANCE:

 

Mandatory.

 

GRADING:

 

Mid-term exam = 40%

Final exam = 40%

Homework assignments = 20% ;

 

Grade Scale:

 

A = 90%; B+ = 86%; B = 80%; C+ = 76%; C = 70%; D+ = 66%; D = 60%.

 

Individual exams will not be “curved”. 0 to 3 % will be added to overall individual student grades before assigning final course grades, based on classroom participation including attendance. 

 

 

Missing quizzes and Exams:

 

If you will be unable to attend class on the date of a scheduled exam, please contact me prior to exam date to arrange an alternative exam time.

 

Academic Honesty

As a result of completing the registration form at the University of Florida, every student has signed the following statement: "I understand that the University of Florida expects its students to be honest in all their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University."

UF Counseling Services

Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals, which interfere with their academic performance. These resources include:

University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling;

Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling;

Sexual Assault Recovery Services, Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual assault counseling; and

Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling

                                                                     SOS 4116

                                                    TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE

WEEK

SUBJECT

CHAPTER

PAGES

 

1

1. Introduction, course outline and objectives. Textbook & other reference materials

2. Historical overview

3. Calculations overview

 

1

 

 

1-9

Handouts

2

1. The Essential plant elements

a.         Definition

b.         Macronutrients

c.         Micronutrients

 2.   Growth and factors affecting it

a.       Nutrient uptake by roots

 

1

9-24

3

1. Nitrogen

a.         Chemistry & biochemistry in soil

b.         Function in plant

c.         Visual Deficiency symptoms

 HW 1

6

 

 

 

 

115-143

 

 

 

 

4

1.  Phosphorus

a.         Chemistry & biochemistry in soil

b.         Function in plant

c.         Visual Deficiency symptoms

·         Download Phosphorus handout (pdf)

·         View Phosphorus lecture in power point

 2. Potassium

a.         Chemistry & biochemistry in soil

b.         Function in plant

c.         Visual Deficiency symptoms

·         Download Potassium handout (pdf)

·         View Potassium lecture in power point

 HW 2

7

 

 

 

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

145-160

 

 

 

 

 

163-183

 

 

 

 

5

1. Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur

a.       Chemistry & biochemistry in soil

b.      Function in plant

c.       Visual Deficiency symptoms

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

185-193

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

Nutrition of Florida crops

a.         Turfgrass –  Guest Lecturer

 

 

 

7

1.Micronutrients

a.         Chemistry & biochemistry in soil

b.         Function in plant

b.      Visual Deficiency symptoms

 

HW 3

2. Soil Fertility evaluation

a.         Soil testing

b.         Plant tissue testing

c.         Plant response modeling

 

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13

 

195-214

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

253-265

 

 

8

1. Nitrogen Fertilizers

a.         Basic synthetic process

b.         Chilean nitrate

c.         Ammonia derivatives – nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, urea

d.         Slow release N fertilizers: IBDU, sulfur coated urea, osmocote.

e.         Mixed fertilizers

f.           Organic N sources

11

217-224

9

2. Phosphorus fertilizers

a.         Phosphate rock production

b.         Methods of production of P fertilizers: phosphoric acid, Ordinary super phosphate, triple super phosphate, ammonium phosphate

MID TERM EXAM

11

225-232

 

10

Organic Farming Guest Lecturer

a.         Agricultural sustainability

b.         Organic farming theories

c.         Organic crop standards

d.         Animal manures

e.         Green-manure crops

f.           Crop rotation

g.         Non-traditional nutrient sources

 

 

11

 

1. Nutrition of Florida Crops - Guest lecturer

Ornamentals –

2. Fertilizer application rates

 

 

12

1. Potassium Fertilizers

a.         Sources of potash and mining

b.         Potassium nitrate, K sulfate, K chloride.

2. Lime, Sulfur, micronutrients, and liquid sources of fertilizer materials.

3. Mixed fertilizers; the fertilizer tag

4. Physical properties and application methods of fertilizers

 

  • Fertilizer calculations

11

 

 

 

12

232-235

 

 

 

237-251

 13

Field Trip

 

 

14

Environmental aspects of fertilizer use

a.         Nutrient leaching and runoff

b.         Atmospheric issues

c.         Contaminants

d.         Natural resource depletion

e.         Energy requirements

f.           Land resources

g.         World food supply

  

 

14

Handout

280-282

15

1. Application of fertilizers

2. Interactions

3. Rules of working fertilizer problems

Class exercises in sample formulation problems (continued).

 

14

Handout

267-276

16

Finish up material and review

 

 

 

Final Exam