DAGR 1020 - Pest and Weed Identification

3 sem hrs cr

This course will familiarize students with common weed, disease, and insect problems that occur during the production and maintenance of agriculture. Principles and concepts of pest management will be presented and discussed. The importance of integrated pest management as an environmentally sound practice will be emphasized based on economic, ecological and sociological consequences. The classification, life cycles, characteristics, and management of weeds with an emphasis on chemical as well as cultural, mechanical, and biological control methods used for management will be presented.

Transfer (UT) or Non-Transfer Course (UN): UT

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will…

• identify major types of agricultural pests.
• define the factors that promote disease and pest outbreak.
• describe the basic methods of biological, cultural, mechanical/physical, and chemical pest control.
• develop a basic integrated pest-management strategy for specific crops and landscapes.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Identify the main insect orders
• Identify 12 common weeds
• Identify the principles of integrated pest management
• Identify the common landscape vertebrate pests
• Identify the principal plant disease causal agents
• Discuss the place of weeds in agriculture
• Describe the different weed life cycles and factors affecting weed reproduction, seed dispersal and soil seed bank
• Describe the cultural, mechanical, and biological methods of weed control
• Read an herbicide label and calibrate a sprayer to apply the correct amount of chemical
• Scout and identify what pests exist in a field
• Describe the economic impact of integrated pest management
• Apply current pest management principles to crop production and situations where pest management is critical, depending on climate, etc.
• Identify and analyze alternatives to pest management
• Recognize different pests, measure thresholds, controls, and alternatives to pest control