CLE’s and State Content Standards for Plant Science

Class Description: (prerequisite: Introduction to Agriculture or teacher’s signature) Available to Sophomores and Juniors. This class will learn the concepts and skills necessary for crop and greenhouse production as well as landscape design. The first semester will be devoted to soil and plant science with topics including: Soil fertility, Soil conservation, Organic matter, Crop production, Forage production, Irrigation systems and management, Sustainable agriculture, Plant diseases, and Insects. The second semester will be devoted to greenhouse production with topics including: Plant propagation, Greenhouse structures and systems, Hydroponics, Floriculture, Landscape designs, Genetics and Biotechnology.

An Agricultural Current Event will be due every other Friday with written and oral evaluation.

A Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAE) will be graded as 20% of the final grade.

Students will work in groups of two and contribute to a research project at the Haskell Agricultural Research Lab. Students will work directly with Agricultural Specialists Tom Hunt, Charles Shapiro, and Stevan Knezevic.

Text: Introduction to Plant and Soil Science and Technology, by Ronald J. Biondo, and Jasper S. Lee. Interstate Publishers (1997)


State Content Standards Achieved:

12.3.3 Science: Students will define cation, anion, and cation exchange capacity.

12.7.3 Science: Students will list properties, beneficial effects, and maintenance of organic matter.

12.4.6 Science: Students will explain how temperature, moisture, pH, and organic matter influence soil microbial activity.

12.5.3 Science: Students will describe how particle size affects surface area and soil reactivity.

Students will describe how soil texture affects water holding capacity, available water, and wilting point of soils.

12.7.4 Science: Students will explain how strip cropping, contouring, terraces, grassed waterways, surface residues, and cover crops affect sheet, rill, gully, and wind erosion.

Plant Science (continued 2)

12.7.3 Science: Students will distinguish between clean till and high surface residue management systems regarding soil temperature, soil erosion, soil moisture, and compaction.

12.1.4 Science: Students will describe how infiltration rate, subsurface drainage, permeability, and soil depth influence surface runoff, leaching potential, and lateral flow.

12.5.2 Science: Students will define evapo-transpiration.

12.4.5 Science: Students will describe how wind, temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, and amount of plant canopy influence evapo-transpiration.

Students will identify factors to consider when selecting and designing an irrigation system.

12.7.3 Science: Students will identify the safety devices required for chemigation use in Nebraska.

12.4.1 Science: Students will list the 16 nutrients essentials for plant growth.

Students will describe how immobilization and mineralization affect nutrient availability.

12.5.2 Science: Students will describe how atmospheric Nitrogen relates to the general Nitrogen cycle.

12.3.3 Science: Students will recognize how soil retains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

12.2.1 Science: Students will identify soil sampling and handling procedure.

12.1.2 Science: Students will interpret the items on a soil test report.

12.2.24 Science: Students will recognize economic and environmental factors involved in making fertilizer recommendations.

12.2.2 Science: Students will use fertilizer analysis information to calculate amounts of different fertilizers to be applied to meet a specific recommendation.

12.2.1 Science: Students will analyze data and determine the economic threshold of insect or disease populations on particular crops.

12.1.1 Science: Students will describe the general principles of an IPM.
Plant Science (continued 3)

12.4.4 Science: Students will develop an IPM.

12.1.1 Science: Students will identify selected plant diseases by host symptoms and classify each type of causative agent.

12.4.6 Science: Students will describe how biological, cultural, mechanical, host plant resistance, attractants/repellents, and quarantine management techniques affect insect populations.

12.4.1 Science: Students will distinguish between pre-plant, pre-emergence, and post emergence as methods of herbicide application.

12.3.3 Science: Students will recognize how contact vs. translocated characteristics of herbicides effect their activity.

12.1.1 Science: Students will collect, classify, and identify flowers and flower structures.

12.4.1 Science: Invite a guest speaker from a seed company to discuss genetic research.

12.4.2 Science: Students will demonstrate methods of cuttings, division, layering and grafting.

Students will define Pure Live Seed.

Students will distinguish seeding rate from plant population.

12.4.6 Science: Students will identify how day length and climate influence hybrid and cultivar selection.

Students will define Growing Degree Day.

Students will distinguish between determinant and indeterminant plants.

Students will list the advantages and disadvantages of growing green manure crops, cover crops, and companion crops, as well as double cropping and strip cropping.

12.4.1 Science: Students will develop the best method of irrigation in various situations.

12.6.2 Science: Students will distinguish the benefits and disadvantages of Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

Plant Science (continued 4)

12.2.1 Science: Students will research grain, sugar, oil, and fiber crops.

12.4.1 Science: Students will demonstrate the care for potted plants.

12.1.1 Science: Students will identify and maintain hand tools and equipment.

12.1.1 Science: Students will identify plants and plant parts used in the horticulture industry.

12.7.4 Science: Students will describe environmental factors that should be considered before selecting a plant for a landscape.

12.4.2 Math: Students will analyze a landscape site.

Students will effectively use design symbols in a landscape plan.

12.2.2 Reading/Writing: Students will identify and explain the three elements in a landscape design.

12.4.2 Math: Students will apply both principal and element of design to create a landscape plan

12.2.1 Math: Students will calculate price of landscape design.

12.4.1 Science: Students will interpret structural considerations to maintain a growing environment for plants.

12.4.6 Science: Students will perform management activities necessary to produce plants in an artificial environment.

12.4.26 Social Science: Students will analyze marketing strategies necessary to operate a greenhouse production business.

12.4.6 Science: Students will start and grow plants in a soil-less growing medium.