PSS 1313 PLANT SCIENCE - COURSE SYLLABUS          Fall Semester, 2004

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . DEPARTMENT OF PLANT AND SOIL SCIENCES

Instructor:    Dr. Richard L. Harkess                     

Office:           142-A Dorman Hall                           

Phone:           325-4556                                            

email:            harkessr@ra.msstate.edu

Course Meeting Time and Place:

           Lecture:         Monday & Wednesday 11:00-11:50, Greenhouse Room 104

           Laboratory:    Wednesday,   Dorman Hall Room 156

Section 1 - 1:00-2:50 ; Section 2 - 3:30-5:20

Text:  Plant Science. J.A. Barden, R.G. Halfacre, and D.J. Parrish, 1987. McGraw Hill, Inc. New York, NY.

           This syllabus and related course information can be found on the internet at the following locations: http://www2.msstate.edu/~harkessr/index.html and at http://webct.msstate.edu/ . The WebCT site will also have the handouts, information on the writing assignment, and other information to help you study for this course. Check this site regularly.

Course Description and Objectives:

           This course will study scientific principles as the basis for practices in producing, handling, processing, marketing, and using agronomic and horticultural plants.

Grading:

Midterm I - 25%

Midterm II - 25%

Final Exam - 30%

Lab assignments - 15%

Attendance - 5%

Total = 100%

All exams will be comprehensive!

Grading scale

92% = A

82% = B

70% = C

60% = D

65% = S

IMPORTANT NOTES:

♦    There will be zero tolerance for cheating or plagiarism (academic misconduct) in this course. Incidences of cheating or plagiarism will be turned over to the student academic honesty committee. Penalties for cases of proven cheating or plagiarism can include suspension or expulsion from the University.

Cheating: Defined in the Bulldog Handbook and can include: using unauthorized materials as an aid during exams; looking at or receiving information from another person’s exam, report or assignment; submitting course materials or activities not your own; plagiarism; possessing old exams or assignments not authorized by instructor.

Plagiarism (as defined in the Bulldog Handbook): Using the ideas, organization, or words of another from a book, article, paper, computer file, or other source in any assignment without giving proper credit following accepted citation rules.

♦    First Graded Project: The first graded project in this course will be the first midterm exam which will be given within the first 6 weeks of classes as outlined in the university guidelines.

♦    Attendance: The individual student is responsible for their attendance of course lectures and labs. Excused absences will be accepted for University sanctioned events. Attendance points will be based on the percent of the lectures attended.

♦   Missed Exams: Students will be given a zero on an exam that has been missed without a legitimate excuse, preferably given in advance.

♦   Late Assignments: Assignments turned in late will loose 10% of the grade for each day beyond the due date until the assignment is turned in.

♦   Labs: Specific lab exercises for each week will be announced and/or posted to the web page prior to the lab period. Make sure you check the announcements section of the PSS1313 web page periodically for these announcements.

♦   Lab Assignments: Lab assignments will be handed out during laboratory sessions and a due date will be announced at that time. Many of the assignments will be due at the end of the lab period.

♦   Missed Labs: Attendance is the responsibility of the student and absences should be approved IN ADVANCE where circumstances permit. There will be no make up for laboratory exercises that have been missed without notice. Due to the nature of some of the labs (i.e. group projects, field trips...), there will be no make up available for these labs if missed.

♦    The use of all tobacco products is prohibited in the classroom, the greenhouse, and during labs.

♦    The use of Cell Phones is prohibited during class and lab periods.

Important Dates for PSS1313

W Aug. 18      First day of class

M Sept. 20      Midterm Exam I

M Oct. 25      Midterm Exam II

W Dec 1         Last day of class

T Dec 7          FINAL EXAM (8:00-11:00 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7TH)

Lecture Topics

These are general topics and may not be covered in this order. Please read the chapters given below as we cover the different topics. The book chapters, lecture materials, and labs are sources for exam questions. You will be responsible for this information. Additional topics may be covered as time permits.

Plant Structure p.13-54

Plant Growth and Development p.55-80

Plant growth regulation, Phytohormones p.57-62

Genetics and Reproduction p.113-140

Light p.86-97, 141-160

Temperature p.161-186

Respiration p.97-101

Water p.187-207

Soils p.208-224

Nutrition p.225-244

Plant Propagation p.309-336

Directing Plant Growth p.337-352