LV EN RU DE FR

Field Cultivation

Course developer

Prior knowledge

LauZ2046, Agricultural Resources

Course abstract

The aim of this course is to provide students with soil management as a branch of science, objects and methods of research; regularities in soil management; plant life-related factors; possibilities of practical regulation. Biological peculiarities and classification of weed; estimation of weed pressure under field conditions and in the yield of crop. Weed control; crop sequence, soil management and field cultivation systems; crop plants in crop rotation; substation of proper soil tillage. Methods and ways of soil tillage; soil tillage systems; co-ordination of measures relating to soil tillage and weed control measures. As well as, students are introduced to the classification and justification of precision agriculture; yield maps; sensors; mobile devices; robots; drones; basic principles of soil sampling and specialized computer programs.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

1. Students obtain knowledge about crop rotation, weed’s species, their biological individualities and control, soil tillage systems. Tests 1 – 3.
2. To knew put into practice the knowledge about different weed species. Students acquire skills to estimate weediness of sowings, to choose optimal weed control methods. Laboratory works. Tutorial.
3. Know how estimate the necessary of crop rotations, and planning soil tillage technologies. Be able self-dependency to carry the decisions and to find creative development in different conditions. In the result students will be competent to direct soil management or advisory the farmers for different questions in field cultivation. Laboratory works. Tutorials.
4. Able to appreciate and recognize the basic principles and basic elements of precision agriculture and they technologies.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. Introduction: course structure, study literature, expected results, assignments –1 h
Scient Scientific basics of field cultivation
2. Basic law of field cultivation, their relevance at take choice of technologies – 1 h
3. Factors of plant growth, their regulation – regime of plant nutrients, regime of water and air; regime of light and temperature – 2 h
Weed Weeds and weed control
4. The concept of weeds and their harmfulness, weed harmfulness thresholds. Biological properties of weeds; classification – 1 h
5. Weediness, methods of its determination. Weed control - control measures: direct - mechanical, chemical, physical, biological; indirect – preventive, organizational, phytocenotic – 1 h
6. Weed control methods. Integrated weed control –2 h
Test 1: weed control and their biological characteristics – 1 h
Soil tillage operation and systems
7. Historical view in soil tillage. Soil tillage objective, tasks and their execution – 1 h
8. Soil tillage actions. Soil tillage operations, types and methods of tillage – 1 h
9. Soil primary tillage and secondary tillage – 1 h
Test 2: soil tillage system – 1 h
Crop rotation
10. Concept of crop sequence, explanation of related terms; history of crop rotation development – 1 h
11. Crop sequence, reasons for its necessity, organization – 1 h
12. Soil tillage and weed control in crop sequence – 2 h
Agricultural systems
13. Sustainable, conventional, biological agricultural systems – 0.5 h
14. Field cultivation as part of agricultural systems – 0.5 h
Test 3: the agronomical importance of crop sequence and agricultural systems – 1 h
Precision field cultivation
15. Precision agriculture, its division and basic principles – 1 h
16. Yield maps, their extraction technology, production and data analysis –1 h
17. Sensors, mobile equipment, drones – 1 h
18. Soil sampling. Study of sown conditions. Optimization of technologies according to agrochemical indicators – 1 h
19. Application of specialized computer programs in agriculture –1 h

Laboratory works
1. Biological classification of weeds – 1 h
2. Identification of weeds used weed herbarium (81 species) in Latvian and Latin (tutorial) – 4 h
3. Identification of weed seed (40 species), root systems of weed biological groups (tutorial) – 4 h
4. Identification of weed seedlings (81 species) (tutorial) – 4 h
5. Agrophysical properties of soils, soil structure, soil structural stability – 2 h
6. Soil packing density and bulk density determination – 3 h
7. Crop rotation. Crop sequence in crop rotation – 2 h
8. Plan of crop rotation disain – 2 h
9. Plan of crop rotation table – 1 h
10. Organization of crop rotations. Technological conditions of fields – 1 h
11. Projects of crop rotation systems – 3 h
12. The introducing plan of crop rotation – 2 h
13. Soil fertility management in crop rotation – 1 h
14. The plan of soil tillage and weed control in crop rotation – 2 h

Requirements for awarding credit points

The written examination.
The assignments for the test include theoretical questions covered during the semester.
All tests and tutorials of laboratory works should have a positive evaluation.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Independent literature studies, evaluation of the results of laboratory works, acquisition of a weed herbarium, collection of sprouts and seeds, preparation for control tests.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

The assessment of the study course examination is cumulative. It is made up of the grades of the examination tests during the semester and tutorials of laboratory works.
The grade is successful if at least 50% of the question of tests or the examination are correct.
Students who have at least „7” are not required to write a theoretical part of the examination; their grade for this part is made up of an arithmetic mean of grades in tests during the semester and grade of tutorials of laboratory works.

Compulsory reading

1. Kroģere R. (2021). Laukkopības praktikums. I daļa Augsnes agrofizikālās īpašības. Jelgava: LLU, 17 lpp.
2. Kroģere R. (2021). Laukkopības praktikums. II daļa Tīruma nezāles. Jelgava: LLU, 37 lpp.
3. Kroģere R. (2022). Laukkopības praktikums. III daļa Augu maiņas un augseku organizācija. Jelgava: LLU, 32 lpp.
4. Lapiņš D., Kažotnieks J. (2000). Laukkopība. Ozolnieki, LLKC, 247 lpp.
5. Vilde A., Ruciņš Ā., Viesturs D. (2008). Globālās pozicionēšanas tehnoloģijas lauksaimniecībā. Jelgava: LLU. 47 lpp.

Further reading

1. 1. Riekstiņš A. (2008). Laukkopība. Talsi. Valsts Graudaugu selekcijas institūts. 416 lpp.
2. 2. Labas lauksaimniecības prakses nosacījumi Latvijā. (1999). Jelgava, LLU. 103 lpp.
3. 3. Srinivasan A. (2006). Handbook of Precision Agriculture Principles and Applications. London: Oxford. 683 p.

Periodicals and other sources

1. Agro Tops
2. Saimnieks.LV
3. LLKIC materiāli par bruto peļņas aprēķinu zemnieku saimniecībās, tehnoloģiju pilnveidošanu laukkopībā
4. Zinātnisko žurnālu un konferenču krājumu raksti (Līdzsvarota lauksaimniecība, Ražas svētki Vecaucē u.c.)

Notes

Compulsory study course. Professional bachelor study program “Agriculture”, agronomist with specialization in agriculture or horticulture.