PLNT*6230 (F) Colloquium in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry

course node page

The following description is for the course offering in Fall 2022 and is subject to change. It is provided for information only. The course outline distributed to the class at the beginning of the semester describes the course content and delivery, and defines the methods and criteria to be used in establishing the final grades for the course.
 

An open discussion course designed to review and critically analyze contemporary issues in plant physiology and biochemistry.

This colloquium will explore the various responses of temperate tree fruit crops to environmental conditions such as light, temperature, and water and relate these to tree and fruit growth and development, physiological processes, orchard productivity and fruit quality. Emphasis will placed on apple, peach, cherry, and pear species.

While there is no course pre-requisite, students would benefit having previous instruction in temperate zone pomology, plant physiology, and horticulture.

Instructors:

John A. Cline

Teaching Assistant:

Credit Weight:

0.25

Course Level:

  • Graduate

Academic Department (or campus):

Department of Plant Agriculture

Campus:

Guelph

Semester Offering:

  • Fall

Class Schedule and Location:

Timetable is subject to change. Please see WebAdvisor for the latest information.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  1. Have a general understanding of the following crop physiology concepts:
    • Understand the various responses of temperate tree fruit crops to environmental conditions such as light, temperature, and water.
    • Understand whole tree physiology principles for temperature fruit crops.
    • Understand the underlying principals of tree physiology of temperate tree fruit crops and how they impact orchard productivity and fruit quality.
    • Have an appreciation of how tree physiology informs orchard managements to improve productivity, orchard management practices and annual bearing.
       
  2. In the area of problem solving and critical thinking
    • Critically evaluate ideas and arguments by gathering relevant information, assessing its credibility, and synthesizing evidence to formulate a position.
    • Identify problems and independently propose solutions using creative approaches, acquired through interdisciplinary experiences, and a depth and breadth of knowledge/expertise.
    • Accurately interpret and use numerical information to evaluate and formulate a position.
       
  3. In the area of information literacy, quantitative literacy, technological literacy, and visual literacy
    • Extract material from a variety of resources, assess the quality and validity of the material, and use it to discover new knowledge.
       
  4. In the area of oral and written communication, reading comprehension
    • interact effectively with a variety of individuals and groups, and convey information successfully in a variety of formats including oral and written communication. Communicating also comprises attentiveness and listening, as well as reading comprehension.
    • communicate and synthesize information, arguments, and analyses accurately and reliably.
    • accurately and effectively communicate scientific ideas, arguments and analyses, to a range of audiences, in graphic, oral and written form
       
  5. In the area of professional and ethical behaviour, teamwork, ethical reasoning, leadership, personal organization, time management, intellectual independence
    • accomplish the tasks at hand with proficient skills in teamwork and leadership, while remembering ethical reasoning behind all decisions
    • use organizational and time management skills to bring together all aspects of managing self and others.
    • embrace academic integrity. At the graduate level, intellectual independence is needed for professional and academic development and engagement.

Lecture Content:

Week 1
The first class meeting we will review the course objectives and outline. Students will be presented with a list of topics pertaining to temperate tree fruit crop management topics from which they can select their colloquium presentation and final paper.

Week 2
An overview of key physiological processes in temperature tree fruit crops will be presented and discussed.

Week 3
We will discuss the major expectations for each assignment and begin to schedule the presentation times for the colloquium presentations.

Weeks 4-12
We will formally commence the student lead discussion early week three of four, depending on the number of students enrolled students.

Labs & Seminars:

N/A

Course Assignments and Tests:

Tracking Marks: We will use CourseLink to collate marks throughout the semester. It is your responsibility to review these grades and report any discrepancies. Keep paper and/or other reliable back-up copies of all in- and out-of-class assignments: You may be asked to resubmit work at any time.
 
Presentation Outline (10%)
Due: Week 3, Virtual, email
Each student will provide the instructor with a brief written outline (point form accepted; max. 1 page) of their their topic and presentation
 
Presentation and leading class discussion (25%)
Learning Outcome: 1
Seminar Dates: Seminar dates will be decided based on the number of students.
This course is structured as discussion sessions. Classes will consist of student presentations and discussion of the scientific literature relating to the topic of interest. You will be required to make a presentation and lead a discussion on a physiological process underlying the specific tree fruit crop selected and how this impacts production of that crop. You will be required to circulate a few relevant papers a week prior to your presentation time for your colleagues to read. In the presentation, you will focus on peer-reviewed scientific papers or book chapters, and lead the discussion on what is presented in the paper, including relevance to the tree fruit industry, methods used, data collected, results, discussion and further research. Class presentations will be followed by student–led discussion.
 
The number of presentations by each will depend on student enrollment in the course and will be determined by the instructor. If one presentation is made, is will account for 100% of your grade for this component of the course. If there is time in the course to present two presentations per student, each will count 50% toward this component of the course.
 
Class Participation (10%)
Learning Outcome: 1
Students are expected to participate in all discussions relating to course content, unless academic consideration has been granted. The participation mark will be evaluated and provided to the student at the end of the term.
 
Term paper (55%)
Each student will write a mini review paper of 3,000 – 4,000 words, based on the scientific literature, dealing with a selected topic pertaining to tree physiology of temperature tree fruit species. Submit the title and outline of your chosen topic to the instructor on or before the end of September. The paper should include 15-20 references from the scientific literature. The Final paper will be due on or before November 18 11:59 pm. Details of how to prepare and format the paper will be provided. A grading rubric will be provided in advance.
 

Final examination:

There is no final examination scheduled for this course

Course Resources:

Required Text

There is no required textbook for this course. 

Recommended Text

The students are expected to use peer-reviewed scientific information for this course. Examples of Journals include: Canadian Journal Plant Science, Hort Science, J. American Soc. Hort. Science, J. Amer. Pomological Society, J. Hort. and Biotechnology, Agronomy, Scientia Horticulturae, Horticultural Reviews

There is no singular text book that meets the requirements of this course. However, the most relevant are below and some are available electronically through the university library (www.lib.uoguelph.ca).

  1. Westwood, N.M. 1993. Temperature zone pomology. 3rd ed. Timber Press, Portland, OR. Teskey, B. J. E. 1978. Tree Fruit Production.3rd ed. Avi Pub. Co, Westport, Conn.
  2. Childers, N. F., J. R. Morris, and G. S. Sibbet. 1995. Modern fruit science: orchard and small fruit culture. Horticultural Publications, Gainesville, FL.
  3. Faust, M. 1989. Physiology of Temperate Zone Fruit Trees. Wiley Interscience, New York.
  4. Jackson, D., N. E. Looney, M. Morley-Bunker. 2011. Temperate and subtropical fruit production. 3rd ed. CABI, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK
  5. Baugher, T. A. and S. Singha. 2003. Concise Encyclopedia of Temperate Tree Fruit. Food Products Press, New York, NY.
  6. Sansavini, S., Costa, G., Gucci, R., Inglese, P., Ramina, A., Xiloyannis, C., and Desjardins,Y., eds. (2019). Principles of Modern Fruit Science (Leuven, Belgium: ISHS), pp.421. ISBN 978-94-6261-204-4 (paperback). €80Concepts for Understanding Fruit Trees
  7. Theodore DeJong, 2022. Concepts for Understanding Fruit Trees. CABI Press. Boston. 113 p.
  8. Schaffer, B. and P.C. Andersen. 1994. Handbook of Environmental Physiology of Fruit Crops. Volume I: Temperate Crops. DOI: 10.1201/9780203719299. CRC Press ISBN: 0-8943-0175-0
  9. Evans. K. 2017. Achieving sustainable cultivation of apples. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, London. DOI: https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.4324/9781351114233. ISBN 9781351114233
Required Resources

This course will use a variety of technologies including;

  • Zoom

To help ensure you have the best learning experience possible, please review the list of system and software requirements. https://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/system-and-software-requirements

Zoom (Software)
This course may at times use Zoom for meetings. Check your system requirements to ensure you will be able to participate. https://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/system-and-software-requirements 

Technical Skills (Other)
As part of your learning experience, you are expected to use a variety of technologies for assignments, lectures, teamwork, and meetings. In order to be successful in this course you will need to have the following technical skills:

  • Manage files and folders on your computer (e.g., save, name, copy, backup, rename, delete, and check properties);
  • Install software, security, and virus protection;
  • Use office applications (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or similar) to create documents;
  • Be comfortable uploading and downloading saved files;
  • Communicate using email (e.g., create, receive, reply, print, send, download, and open attachments);
  • Navigate the CourseLink learning environment and use the essential tools, such as Dropbox, Quizzes, Discussions, and Grades (the instructions for this are given in your course);, if needed
  • Access, navigate, and search the Internet using a web browser (e.g., Firefox, Internet Explorer); and
  • Perform online research using various search engines (e.g., Google) and library databases.

Contact your course instructor if you need support with any of the above.

Course Policies:

Grading Policies
If you choose to submit assignments to the DropBox tool late, the full allocated mark will be reduced by 5% per day after the deadline for the submission of the assignment to a limit of five days at which time access to the DropBox folder will be closed. Please note that these policies are binding unless academic consideration is given to an individual student.
 
Extensions will be considered for medical reasons or other extenuating circumstances. If you require an extension, discuss this with the instructor as soon as possible and well before the due date. Barring exceptional circumstances, extensions will not be granted once the due date has passed. These rules are not designed to be arbitrary, nor are they inflexible. They are designed to keep you organized, to ensure that all students have the same amount of time to work on assignments, and to help to return marked materials to you in the shortest possible time.
 
Course Policy regarding use of electronic devices and recording of seminars
 
Electronic recording of classes, including student presentations is expressly forbidden without consent of the instructor and the presenter.  When recordings are permitted they are solely for the use of the authorized student and may not be reproduced, or transmitted to others, without the express written consent of the instructor.
 
The materials provided in this course are the property of the course instructors unless otherwise stated. Third party copyrighted materials (such as book chapters and articles) have either been licensed for use in this course, or have been copied under an exception or limitation in Canadian Copyright law.
 
The fair dealing exception in Canada's Copyright Act permits students to reproduce short excerpts from copyright-protected materials for purposes such as research, education, private study, criticism and review, with proper attribution. Any other copying, communicating, or distribution of any content provided in this course, may be an infringement of copyright if done without proper license or the consent of the copyright owner, the course instructors. Examples of infringing uses of copyrighted works would include uploading materials to a commercial third party web site (such as CourseHero or OneClass), or making paper or electronic copies of works for commercial purposes.
For more information about students’ rights and obligations with respect to copyrighted works, consult the Fair Dealing Guidance for Students document on the Library’s Copyright website

Other Course Information:

University Policies

Academic Consideration

When you find yourself unable to meet an in-course requirement because of illness or compassionate reasons, please advise the course instructor in writing, with your name, id#, and e-mail contact. See the academic calendar for information on regulations and procedures for Academic Consideration:

Academic Misconduct

The University of Guelph is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and it is the responsibility of all members of the University community, faculty, staff, and students  to be aware of what constitutes academic misconduct and to do as much as possible to prevent academic offences from occurring.

University of Guelph students have the responsibility of abiding by the University's policy on academic misconduct regardless of their location of study; faculty, staff and students have the responsibility of supporting an environment that discourages misconduct. Students need to remain aware that instructors have access to and the right to use electronic and other means of detection. Please note: Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of guilt. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before submitting it. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part could be construed as an academic offence should consult with a faculty member or faculty advisor.

The Academic Misconduct Policy is detailed in the University Calenders:

Accessibility

The University of Guelph is committed to creating a barrier-free environment. Providing services for students is a shared responsibility among students, faculty and administrators. This relationship is based on respect of individual rights, the dignity of the individual and the University community's shared commitment to an open and supportive learning environment. Students requiring service or accommodation, whether due to an identified, ongoing disability or a short-term disability should contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS), formerly Centre for Students with Disabilities (CSD), as soon as possible.

For more information, contact CSD at 519-824-4120 ext. 56208 or email sas@uoguelph.ca or visit the Student Accessibility Services website: http://www.uoguelph.ca/csd/.

Course Evaluation Information

Your ratings and comments are important.  Course evaluation data are used to assess and enhance the quality of teaching and student learning at the University of Guelph.  Student course ratings and comments are used as an important component in the Faculty Tenure & Promotion process, and as valuable feedback to help instructors improve their teaching effectiveness and to improve the delivery of the course.

Your responses will not affect your grade.  Course evaluation data are distributed to individual instructors after final grades have been submitted to the Registrar, following the completion of each academic semester.

Please be honest, respectful, constructive and thorough.  Instructors and review committees place great value on student course ratings and read all comments provided in course evaluations. It is helpful to provide comments on the strengths of the course, in addition to the areas for improvement.  Please refrain from personal comments unless they relate to teaching and learning.

Click here for the University of Guelph Course Evaluation System