PLS215: Plant Progation

Spring 2004

Syllabus

Course Objectives:Plant Science 215, Plant Propagation, gives you an opportunity to become acquainted with the propagation of plants by seed or by the various vegetative techniques currently practiced in horticulture. Since the Art and Science of plant propagation is an application of developmental plant physiology, the material in this course will be solidly grounded in the plant science basics learned in PLS 150 or Introductory Biology. But really, this is a course which exposes you to the core of all horticulture, and it should be interesting and fun, as well as challenging! With the emphasis on principles, this is not, strictly speaking, a "how-to" course, although you will be given many opportunities to learn specific propagation techniques. Perhaps most important in the longer term, you will be introduced in this course to a number of references containing information about how to propagate specific plants. This will prove valuable in the future if you're not familiar with (or don't remember) the best technique(s) for propagating a given plant. With your familiarity of these references and your knowledge of the general principles involved in propagating plants, you should be able to successfully propagate those plants for which methods have already been devised, and able to systematically work out a scheme for propagating plants for which there is little or no propagation information available. When I took Plant Propagation at Cornell University in 1984 it changed my life – I hope you have a similar experience!

Course Organization

Schedule:

Lecture: MW 9:00 - 9:50 a.m., Woodward 216

Lab: M 2:00 - 4:50 PM, 123 Greenhouse Range

Credit: 3

Office Hours: W 10:00 - 11:00, or by appointment

Teaching Assistants:

Maria Aliberti, Graduate TA, 210b Woodward Hall, 4-7540

Nick Castrataro. Research Assistant, East Farm, 4-5220

Required Text:

Hartmann, HT, DE Kester, FT Davies, Jr., RL Geneve. 2002. Hartmann and Kester’s Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices, 7e, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Optional Texts:

Dirr, MA and CW Heuser. The Reference Manual Of Woody Plant Propagation. 1987.

Macdonald, B., Practical Woody Plant Propagation for Nursery Growers. Vol. 1. 1986.

Grading:

Examination I (3/3) 20%

Examination II (4/21) 20%

Laboratory Attendance/Participation 20%

Laboratory Notebook and Lab Summaries 20%

Final Examination (T, May 11th, 11:30-2:30) 20%

A (95-100), A- (90-94), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76),
C- (70-72), D+(67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), F (<60). No curve.

Course Requirements:

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Absences must be approved or excused.

Exams: Two preliminary examinations will be held during class periods, March 3rd and April 21st. Exams will include material from lectures, reading assignments, field trips and labs. The Final Exam (May 11th) will be comprehensive.

Laboratory: Laboratory experiments will be conducted on a group basis (4 students per group). However, each student will be required to maintain propagation data records (a daily log) and to submit a final summary of all propagation experiments conducted over the semester (comprised of revised summaries of each experiment).

Experimental Data: Each student must have in their data records a summary of the steps performed and data collected for every experiment. Collect and submit numerical data according to the format on the data summary sheet (or as indicated by the instructor), but also observe and record qualitative (descriptive) observations related to propagule vigor, color, disease problems, unexpected responses, etc. Data records will periodically be collected, reviewed and returned for revision.

Final Summaries of Experiments: Each group will be responsible for a 3 to 5 page summary of each propagation experiment. This summary should include relevant information from the text and other reference materials (properly cited), a presentation of results (graph, table, etc.) and a well thought-out conclusion of the experiment, in terms of the original objectives and principles of plant propagation as presented in HKDG. Your summaries will be evaluated for content, thoughtfulness and clarity. All submissions must be typed. Final summaries will be reviewed and returned for revision.

Field Trips: Attendance on all Field Trips is required.

Laboratory Syllabus

Unless otherwise noted, labs will be held Monday afternoons from 2:00 - 4:50 in Greenhouse 123. Field trips depart from the west end of the greenhouse complex.

Date (day)     Activities

1/20(Tues) Introduction to laboratory methods and record keeping; Cuttage I - cuttings provided.

1/26(Mon) Field Trip: Rhode Island Nurseries, Inc., 2:00 to 5:00. 1956/2450

2/2(Mon) Cuttage II – You must collect cuttings prior to lab.

2/9(Mon) Field Trip: Hoogendoorn Nurseries, Inc.; Leave 2:00, return 5:00. 1956/2450

2/16 (Mon) Grafting

2/23(Mon) Budding

3/1(Mon) Seed Lab – Cleaning and Seed Treatments

3/8(Mon) Spring Break – Enjoy!

3/15(Mon) Seed Lab – Priming and Sowing

3/22(Mon) Data Analysis and Presentation

3/29(Mon) Plant Propagation on the WWW

4/5(Mon) Field Trip: Logee’s Greenhouses, Danielson, CT; 12:00 to 5:00. 1956/1138

4/12(Mon) Propagation by Special Structures – Division, Scooping and Scaling

4/19(Mon) Handling Newly Propagated Plants: Cuttings, Seedlings and TC Liners

4/26(Mon) Tissue Culture (videos)

5/3(Mon) Cultivars in Horticulture and Seed Bed Management (East Farm)