Key words
Horticulture – hormonal control – plant production – physiology of vascular plants
Objectives
Horticulture aims at controlling crop growth and development in order to obtain optimal production and plant quality. Molecular genetics increased our knowledge of plant physiology to a large extend. In this course we aim to translate the more fundamental understanding of developmental processes with model plants towards horticultural crops. This understanding allows students to implement this knowledge in the horticultural production process. Available tools are physical methods (temperature and light), chemical methods (plant growth regulators) and genetic transformation to control and monitor growth, flowering, fructification, fruit development, senescence and abscission.
Topics
1. Development
- Embryogenesis and seed dormancy
- flower induction (photoperiodicity, circadian clock, vernalisation, hormonal control, auto-inductive pathway, transition from vegetative to generative meristems)
- control of tuber or bulb formation
- control of leaf abscission and bud dormancy
- fructification and fruit riping, post-harvest physiology
2. Control
- plant hormones, (auxines, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscicic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroids, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid): pathways, signal transduction
- effects of plant hormones important for horticultural crops
Prerequisites
Succeeded in anatomy and morphology of vascular plants, plant physiology, genetics, biochemistry, horticultural crops and techniques, crops under protection, biotechnology
Final Objectives
1. Insight in the complexity of ways to monitor plant growth processes
2. Literature search and application of information in a paper on plant development
3. integration of obtained knowledge with other courses
Materials used
::Click here for additional information::
Course notes, lab facilities for in vitro biology, phytotron
Study costs
Cost: 25.0 EUR
25 €
Study guidance
permanent opportunity for asking questions
Teaching Methods
course notes, scientific publications, project
Assessment
written examination + paper
Lecturer(s)
Marie-Christine Van Labeke, Stefaan Werbrouck
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