Greenhouse Practicum I / II
Biol-3710 / 3730 SECTION: 01 / 02
LAB: Biol-3720 / 3740 SECTION: 01 / 02
LECTURE: Tuesday 2:30 - 3:50pm ROOM: SC 127
LAB: Thursday 2:30 - 5:20pm ROOM: LS 163
Fall & Spring
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated
and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read
and understood the current issue of the student handbook (published by Student
Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the intellectual
property policy, for information about procedures and about what constitutes
acceptable on-campus behavior.
ADA STATEMENT: Students with medical, psychological, learning
or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations or auxiliary
aids will need to contact the Southern Utah University Coordinator of Services
for Students with Disabilities(SSD), in Room 205C of the Sharwan Smith Center
or phone (435) 865-8022. SSD determines eligibility for and authorizes the
provision of services.
INSTRUCTOR: James M. Crouch
OFFICE TELEPHONE: (435) 586-7925
OFFICE: LS 181
E-MAIL: crouch_j@suu.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed for students
to learn the practical aspects of greenhouse operations.
1. You will learn various propagation techniques.
2. You are required to attend twelve labs during the semester, lab locations
include
the greenhouse, prep room, field trip, and campus.
3. You will be required to perform some routine greenhouse tasks. Examples
are weeding, watering, potting, repotting, cleaning pots and mixing potting
media.
4. Formal class instruction will be once per week.
5. A project, developed on plant science, is required. The project needs to
be started early in the semester to allow time for results. Examples include;
soils, propagation, fertilization, light requirements, and water requirements,
etc. A written report using the scientific method is required.
6. There is one field trip during the semester. The date will be determined
later.
7. You will learn common and scientific names of twenty eight plants.
8. There are twenty eight glossary terms you are required to learn.
9. The course grade will be calculated from the four tests and the written
report. Lab grade will be determined from lab participation and attendance.
Each test and the report are worth one hundred points each. Each lab
is worth 8.33 points.
Total Points-Course Grade Total Points-Lab Grade
500-470
A
100
A
469-449
A-
91.67 A-
448-433
B+
83.34 B
432-412
B
75.01 C
411-396
B-
66.68 D
395-380
C+
below F
379-359
C
358-343
C-
342-327
D+
326-306
D
305-290
D-
289-below F
There will be no make up tests.
Labs may be made up if prior arrangements are made.
REQUIRED OR RECOMMENDED TEXTS: None (Several handouts)
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will have a
working knowledge of the basic concepts of greenhouse production which include;
fertilizers, soil-less media, pests, propagation techniques and their relationship
with greenhouse environment factors, such as heating, cooling, root zone temperature
and light.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES are included with this syllabus.
COURSE PREREQUISITES: There are none.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS / MAKE UP WORK: Will be considered only
with prior permission of instructor.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular attendance is required at all
class meetings. Habitual tardiness is unacceptable.
STATEMENT OF SAFETY: The student takes personal responsibility
for themselves and a certain amount of risk is assumed in lab work and the
field trip.
STATEMENT OF FEES: The course fee provides for materials
used in lab and helps defer costs of the field trip.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: It is expected that proper respect be
shown between student and instructor and student to student.
DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: Information contained in this syllabus, other
than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies,
may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the
instructor.
GREENHOUSE PRACTICUM
CLASS & LAB SCHEDULE
FALL
Tuesday Thursday
1. Flat of cuttings Plant Propagation Videos I & II
2. Air Layer/Projects Plant Propagation Lecture
Greenhouse Operations Lecture
3. Plant Bulbs/Projects Test # 1
4. Seed Germination The Plant Lecture
5. No Lab Media Lecture
Plant Growth Regulators Video
6. Plant Clean-up Fertilizer Lecture
7. Woody Cuttings Test # 2
8. Repotting Bulb Lecture
9. Field trip (Tentative) Perennial Lecture
10. 2” Cuttings Perennial Video
11. No Lab Test # 3
12. Clean Flats Pest Lecture
Potted Plant Lecture
13. Dish Gardens Foliage Video
14. No Lab Thanksgiving Break
15. Plant Pansy’s Upon These Grounds
16. Test # 4 3 - 4:50pm
GREENHOUSE PRACTICUM
CLASS & LAB SCHEDULE
SPRING
Tuesday Thursday
1. Plant propagation I & II video Transplant
2. Plant propagation lecture Take cuttings
3. Media / Fertilizer lecture Work on project
4. TEST # 1 Air layer / Repot
Clean-up
5. Bedding plant video / Lecture Plant seeds
6. Pest lecture No lab
7. IPM video / Lecture Plant seeds
8. TEST # 2 Transplant
9. Spring recess Spring recess
10. Disease lecture Woody cuttings
11. Stimulants,retardants & hormones Tenative field trip
Techniques of pruning lecture
12. Grafting & budding video / lecture No lab
13. TEST # 3 Transplant
14. Xeriscape video Pot cuttings
15. Design principles lecture Grafting and budding
16. Designing with trees & shrubs No lab
TEST # 4 Final 3-4:50pm
PLANT STUDY GUIDE / FALL
SETCREASEA PURPUREA Purple Heart
CODIAEUM ‘BRAVO Croton
HAWORTHIA CUSPIDATA Star Window Plant
SCINDAPSUS AUREUS Pothoes
CHLOROPHYTUM COMOSUM ‘VITTATUM’ Spider Plant
DRACAENA MARGINATA Dragon Tree
PEPEROMIA OBTUSIFOLIA Baby Rubber Plant
Test # 1
DIEFFENBACHIA AMOENA Dumb Cane
HELXINE SOLEIROLI Baby Tears
CHAMAEDOREA ELEGANS Neanthe Bella
PILEA DEPRESSA Minature Peperomia
KALANCHOE TOMENTOSA Panda Plant
CEROPEGIA WOODII String of Hearts
FICUS BENJAMINA Weeping Fig
Test # 2
CRASSULA ARGENTEA Jade Plant
PHILODENRON OXYCARDIUM Cordatum
SANSEVIERIA TRIFASCIATA Snake Plant
FICUS ELASTIC ‘DECORA’ Rubber Plant
PILEA NUMMULARIFOLIA Creeping Charlie
ALOE VERA Medicine Plant
PLECTRANTHUS PURPURATUS Swedish Ivy
Test # 3
SEDUM MORGANINUM Burro’s Tail
ASPARAGUS DENSIFLORUS ‘SPRENGERI’ Asparagus Fern
POLYSCIAS FRUTICOSA Ming Aralia
CISSUS ‘ELLEN DANICA’ Ellen Danica
NEPHROLEPIS EXALTATA ‘BOSTONIENSIS’ Boston Fern
SPATHIPHYLLUM ‘MAUNA LOA’ Peace Lily
SYNGONIUM PODOPHYLLUM Arrowhead Plant
TEST # 4
3 - 4:50pm
PLANT STUDY GUIDE / Spring
Saintpaulia ionantha African Violet
Cissus ‘Ellen Danica’ Ellen Danica
Maranta leuconeura erythroneura Red-veined prayer plant
Peperomia obtusifolia ‘Variegata’ Varigated Peperomia
Peperomia caperata Emerald Ripple
Aglaonema X ‘Silver King’ Silver King
Davallia fejeensis ‘Plumosa’ Rabbitfoot Fern
Test # 1
Opuntia ficus-indica ‘Burbank’ Spineless Indian Fig
Aechmea fasiata Silver Vase
Neoregelia carolinae Blushing Bromeliad
Euphorbia pugniformis Medusa’s Head
Crassula perfossa String of Buttons
Fittonia argyroneura Silver Nerve Plant
Kalanchoe beharensis Velvet Leaf
Test # 2
Stapelia nobilis Hairy Starfish Flower
Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’ Peace Lily
Peperomia fosteri Vining Peperomia
Syngonium podophyllum Arrowhead Plant
Agave americana Century Plant
Pilea ‘Silver Tree’ Silver Tree
Begonia Rex Hybrid Rex Begonia
Test # 3
Hedera helix English Ivy
Sedum pachyphyllum Propeller Plant
Dracaena godseffiana ‘Florida Beauty’ Florida Beauty
Dracaena fragrans massangeana Corn Plant
Crassula lycopioides Princess Pine
Zebrina pendula Wandering Jew
Saxifraga sarmentosa Strawberry Begonia
Test # 4
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is an approach in observing reality. It is a logical
yet simple way to determine the how and the what, of what we observe.
1. Observation
When we make an observation the information gained is achieved through our
senses. It is essential that this observation is able to be repeated to be
reliable.
2. Problem
A question is asked about the observation. This question must be applicable
and
have the ability to be tested.
3. Hypothesis
It is a guess at what the answer to the problem might be.
4. Experiment
An experiment is performed to test the authenticity of the hypothesis. A control
is included in all experiments and all results must be able to be repeated.
5. Theory
A theory is a statement, based on investigative evidence that foretells the
chances of future observations.
Interpretation and conclusion. After an experiment, or series of experiments,
the researcher analyzes all of the experimental data. If the results support
the original hypothesis, it is tentatively accepted as true, and the researcher
moves on to the next step. If the data do not support the hypothesis, the
researcher tentatively rejects the hypothesis. If an experimental error is
suspected, the hypothesis may not be rejected but retested. Knowing which
hypothesis is untrue is almost as valuable as knowing which is true. Every
rejected hypothesis brings the scientific community a little closer to the
truth.
Replication. This step in the scientific method is the one least appreciated
by nonscientists. After a hypothesis is tested and accepted, it is retested
again and again to make sure that it is true. Because researchers often make
minor mistakes in the design or execution of experiments, it is important
that other scientists verify the original work. Usually, initial research
experiments and their results are published in scientific journals so that
others in the same field of research can benefit from them and verify them.
If experimental results cannot be replicated (repeated) by other scientists,
the hypothesis is not widely accepted. If a hypothesis withstands this rigorous
retesting, the level of confidence in the hypothesis increases. A hypothesis
that has gained a high level of confidence is called a theory or law.
Glossary Fall
Test #1
Accessory buds - Lateral buds occurring at the base of a terminal bud or in
an axil at the right or
left of the auxillary bud.
Angiosperm - A plant with seeds enclosed in a developed ovary.
Annual - A plant in which the entire life cycle is completed in a single growing
season.
Axillary bud - A bud that develops in the angle (axil) the leaf makes with
the main stem.
Bactericide - A chemical compound that kills bacteria.
Biennual - A plant that normally requires two growing seasons to complete
the life cycle. Only vegetative growth occurs the first year; flowering and
fruiting occur in the second year.
Bulb - An underground storage organ, composed chiefly of enlarged and fleshy
leaf bases.
Callus - Wound tissue; tissue formed on or below a wounded surface.
Test # 2
Chelated Iron - A chemical form of iron that does not become tied up in the
soil but remains available for plant uptake.
Chlorophyll - The green pigment within the cell that is needed to carry on
photosynthesis.
Clone - A group of plants, often many thousand in number, that have had a
common origin and that have been produced only by vegetative means such as
grafting, cutting, or division rather than from seed. The members of a clone
may be regarded as the extension of a single plant.
Compatibility - The ability of two different plants, grafted together, to
produce a successful union and to develop satisfactorily into one composite
plant.
Corm - A short, thickened, underground stem, upright in position, in which
food is accumulated.
Cotyledons - The first leaves (seed leaves) of the embryo, one or more in
number.
Damping off - Death of seedlings due to a soil-borne microorganism.
Test # 3
Deciduous - (1) Falling of parts at the end of the growing period, such as
leaves in autumn, or
fruits or flower parts at maturity; (2) Broad-leaved trees or shrubs that
drop their
leaves at the end of each growing season, as contrasted with plants that retain
their
leaves for more than one year.
Dicotyledon - Also, dicot; a flowering plant with two seed leaves or cotyledons.
Dormancy - A period of growth inactivity in bulbs, buds, seeds and other plant
organs.
Evergreen - Plants that do not lose leaves at the end of each growing season.
Examples: Pine and Juniper
Fungicide - A compound toxic to fungi.
Genus - A group of closely related species that can be distinguished form
other groups.
Growth regulators - A substance that regulates the enlargement, division or
activating of plant cells. Gymnosperm - A plant, as pines, with seeds not
enclosed in an ovary.
Test # 4
Insecticide - Chemical formulation that kills insects.
Meristem - A region in which cell division continues, commonly for the life
of the plant.
A region of tissue initiation.
Miticide - A chemical formulation that kills mites.
Monocotyledon - Also, monocot; a flowering plant with one seed leaf or cotyledon.
Pinching - The procedure by which a small part of the growing tip of the plant
is removed
to cause the development of axillary buds.
Perennial - A woody or herbaceous plant living from year to year, not dying
after
flowering
Species - A group of closely related individuals; the unit of classification
Glossary Spring
Test # 1
Apical dominance - The suppression of lateral shoot development by the apical
bud
(shoot tip).
Alkali soil - A soil with a pH of 8.5 or higher, or high in sodium content,
or both.
Apomixis - Form of reproduction in which new individuals are produced without
nuclear
or cellular fusion. The embryo develops from an unfertilized egg, or from
tissues, such as the integument, which surround the embryo sac.
Allelopathy - The toxic effect of one plant on another.
Bare root - Plants with no soil, or soilless mix on the roots; roots are washed
or shaken
clean of all soil.
Biological control - The reduction in the population of pest organisms by
means of other
living organisms. Control of aphids by ladybug beetles is an
example.
Bud sport - Mutation which occurs in the apical meristem of a bud.
Budstick - A small shoot of current season’s growth used to cut buds for budding.
Test # 2
Chilling requirement - A cold period required by certain plants and plant
parts in order to
break physiological dormancy or rest. The chilling requirement is
expressed in terms of the required number of hours at 7° C (44.6°
F)
or less.
Cambium - Thin, green, actively growing tissue located between the bark and
wood of
a plant; in grafting, the cambium of the scion must touch the cambium of the
stock.
Cuticle - The waxy covering on leaves or fruit, which protects the tissue
against excess
moisture loss.
Cold frame - An outside structure covered on top with glass or plastic used
to harden off
plants or protect tender plants during the winter. Cultivar - A cultivated
variety. A cultivar usually has less variation within it than does a
botanical variety.
Desiccation - The process of drying. Desiccation of plants results from a
lack of water.
High levels of soluble salts in the root medium cause desiccation of roots
by preventing water from entering the roots.
Determinate growth - Limited growth.
Test # 3
Dewpoint - The temperature at which a given mixture of air and water vapor
will reach
100 percent relative humidity or at which condensation will start to occur.
Dioecious - Type of sex expression where plants produce staminate (male) and
pistillate
(female) flowers on separate plants. Dolomitic limestone - Limestone with
a high magnesium content. Used in peat mixes to
raise the pH.
Drip line - The imaginary circle which indicates the outer edge or farthest
extension of a
tree’s branches.
Endosperm - The food supply for the young developing seedling which is contained
in
the seed.
Entomology - The study of insects and their control.
Forcing - The manipulation of environmental factors which makes it possible
to produce
a marketable pot plant or cut flower out of season.
Horticulture - The intensive cultivation of plants. In Latin hortus means
garden, and
cultura means cultivation.
Test # 4
Leaching - The downward movement of nutrients or salts through the soil profile
in soil
water. Leaching accounts for nutrient losses but can also be beneficial in
ridding a soil of excess salts.
Gibberellins - A category of hormones that stimulate growth through cell division
or
elongation or both.
IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) - A naturally occurring auxin produced in apical
meristems of
both roots and shoots.
IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) - A synthetically produced auxin.
NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) - A synthetically produced auxin.
Organic matter - Dead and decaying plant parts, such as green manure crops,
peat moss,
or animal manures which improve the water-holding and fertilizer-
holding capacity of the soil.
pH - It is a chemical term used to express hydrogen ionization in water. The
term refers
to potential hydrogen and indicates the breakdown of water, normally a stable
molecule, into a positively-charged hydrogen ion and a negatively-charged
hydrogen-oxygen molecule.
-or-
A measure of acidity or alkalinity, expressed as the negative log of the hydrogen
ion
concentration. A pH of 7 is neutral; less than 7 is acidic; more than 7 is
basic.
-or-
The pH level is the measure of a soil’s acidity or alkalinity on a scale of
1 - 14; 1 -6
indicates an acid, 7 is neutral, and 8 - 14 indicates a base.