PSC255 Plant Protection (8)
Enrolment restrictions: Nil
This subject is designed to give students a broad understanding of plant protection in the context of broadacre cropping, horticultural enterprises and pastoral systems. Students will be able to develop their knowledge in one of these areas via choice in assignment topics. The emphasis is on developing the knowledge, skills and analytical attitude needed to manage plant protection within such agricultural systems. Students will become familiar with vertebrate and invertebrate pests, weeds and pathogens, and the symptoms shown by plants under attack. This involves the study of the key features of the threatening species' biology and the influence that environmental factors can play. Students will consider the pros and cons of various plant protection methods and how to select and use them. The subject also deals with techniques for monitoring the incidence of pests, weeds and diseases, and introduces the idea of thresholds, for this forms the basis of integrated pest management (IPM). No rural manager can afford to ignore these issues