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Plant Protection I

Course developers

Course abstract

Subject includes studies on the most harmful invertebrates (arthropods, molluscs, nematodes) of cultivated plants. The students are acquitted with the most important diseases of agricultural crops, their causal organisms (fungi, bacteria, viruses), process of infection, ways and possibilities spreading and survive of pathogens.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Knowledge of the causes and agents of plant disease (fungi, bacteria, males, etc.), crop pests - taxonomy, biological and ecological. Knows most harmful diseases and pests to Latvian agricultural crops - tests on theoretical study subject.
Students are able to recognize the most important diseases and pests of crops, they are familiar with the epidemiology of plant diseases and ecology of pests - practical work with the recognition of pests and diseases.
Students are competent in assessing disease and pest risk, understand the most serious disease and pest development cycles, are able to identify risks in a specific agro-ecological situation and to integrate knowledge with practical agronomy - presentation.

Course Content(Calendar)

Lectures (28) + laboratory works (28)
1. Symptoms of plant diseases. Classification of plant diseases – caused by fungi, bacteria and viruse (1+1)
2. Plant diseases caused by fungi - their systematics, causal agents, symptoms, life cycle (2+2)
3. Fungi from the phylum’s Ascomycota and Basidiomycota- their systematics, causal agents, symptoms, life cycle (4+4)
4. Microorganisms from the phylum Oomycota - their systematics, causal agents, symptoms, life cycle (1+1)
5. Diseases of cereals, rape, field beans and potatoes (3+3)
6. Diseases of vegetables, fruit trees and berries (3+3)
7. Morphology and biology of invertebrates (2+2)
8. Systematics and diversity of insects (3+3)
9. Methods for monitoring and studying of insects (2+2)
10. Polyphagous pests, pests of cereals, legumes and cruciferous plants (2+2)
11. Pests of vegetables, fruit-trees, berry crops, ornamentals, green houses and storage houses (3+3)
12. Beneficial insects (2+2)

Part time
Lectures (14) + laboratory works (14)

1. Symptoms of plant diseases. Classification of plant diseases – caused by fungi, bacteria and viruse (1+1)
2. Plant diseases caused by fungi - their systematics, causal agents, symptoms, life cycle (2+2)
3. Fungi from the phylum’s Ascomycota and Basidiomycota- their systematics, causal agents, symptoms, life cycle (3+3)
4. Microorganisms from the phylum Oomycota - their systematics, causal agents, symptoms, life cycle (1+1)
5. Insect morphology, classification, diversity, ecology, research methods (6+0)
6. Pests of various crops (0+6)

7. Beneficial insects (1+1)

Requirements for awarding credit points

1. All laboratory works accomplished.
2. Two written tests about theoretical questions successfully accomplished:
1. Classification of diseases and systematics of major causal agents.
2. Morphology, diversity, ecology of insects and monitoring methods for invertebrates.
3.Two practical tests successfully accomplished:
1. Recognition of disease samples and identification of causal agents.
2. Identification of pests, characterization of their biology, ecology and harmfulness.
Students who have completed all the practical works and successfully written the relevant theoretical test are admitted to the development of practical tests.
4. Essay and presentation on the harmful diseases and pests for a randomly selected crop prepared and successfully presented during the seminar.
Average grade of all tests and essay is final grade of the course.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Written and presented work on the most important diseases and pests for a randomly selected crop.

Independent study of literature and normative acts in preparation for tests.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

1. Assessment of laboratory works - passed/not passed.
2. Grade of the written tests depends on number of points earned in each test.
3. Grade of the practical tests depends on the number of correctly recognized and characterized samples.
Criteria for assessment of the essay and presentation: contents' correspondence with requirements (1), academic reliability of used sources of information (2), presentation's process and author's ability to answer questions and discuss issues considered in the essay (3), compliance of the essay design with regulations of Faculty of Agriculture on the completion and presentation of study papers (4). Criteria No 1 and No 2 make 80%, but criteria No 3 and No 4 make 20% of final grade of the essay.

Compulsory reading

1. Augu slimības. B.Bankinas red. Jelgava: LLU, 2003. 247 lpp.
2. Bankina B., Bimšteine G., Kaņeps J. (2024) Lauka pupu slimības un to ierosinātāji. Jelgava: Latvijas Biozinātņu un tehnoloģiju universitāte – 35 lpp.
3. Bankina.B., Bimšteine G. Kaņeps J. (2021) Vispārējā augu patoloģija: laboratorijas darbi. Jelgava: Latvijas Lauksaimniecības universitāte. – 36 lpp. https://llufb.llu.lv/LLU-studiju-materiali/LF/Vispareja_augu_patologija_LLU_2021.pdf
4. Bankina B., Gaile Z. Ziemāju labības un to slimības. Jelgava: LLU, 2014. 103 lpp.

5. Priedītis A. Kultūraugu kaitēkļi. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC. 1996. 296 lpp. 4. Priedītis A. Derīgie savvaļas dzīvnieki un to izmantošana augu aizsardzībā. Ozolnieki, 1997. 112 lpp.

Further reading

1. Agrios G.N. Plant pathology. San Diego ... [et al.]: Academic Press, 1997.635 p. arī vēlākie izdevumi.
2. Chinery M. A field guide to the Insects of Britain and Northern Europe. Boston: Houghthon Mifflin co., 1974. 352 p.

3. Textbook of Entomology. Ed. Ross H. A. New Yourk, 1982. 570 p.