Course coordinator
Dr Anthony Young
Please contact me by email to make an appointment.
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- Gatton
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- Gatton
- Coordinating unit
- Agriculture and Food Sustainability School
Advanced biology & diagnostics of major pest groups. Pest monitoring including pest & crop sampling & evaluation; development, implementation & analysis of pest management information, professional services, duty of care and ethics.
Plant Protection provides students with practical skills for sustainable agriculture. While many courses are largely theoretical, Plant Protection equips students with first-hand expertise in crop monitoring, pest and disease identification, crop management and reporting. Students who successfully complete this course will have the confidence to go to any crop anywhere, and at least commence the process of pest/disease identification and management. Being a practically focused course, students will prepare professional reports detailing their own experimental activities.ﾠ
Plant Protection is an advanced study course, building on the information and tools developed in PLNT2011 Plant and Environmental Health. In this course you will deal with higher-level studies of the fields of plant pathology, entomology, weed science and Integrated Crop Management (ICM). You will more closely study aspects of advanced ecology, which will help you understand the behaviour and dynamics of pest populations in the field.
In the practical component of this course you will develop higher-level diagnostic skills, which will enable you to more accurately identify the nature of pests and diseases found in the field. You will also investigate the full range of control measures, which are relevant to crop protection in a specific cropping system. A more detailed understanding of the effects of dynamics of pathogens and pests on crop productivity and the development of threshold levels for action will be developed.
A key element of this course is the field-based clinical service exercise, in which you willﾠapply professional crop protection advisory practice and skills in a commercial production system. This is usually a very successful exercise, which will help you sharpen your skills and your knowledge in the field of crop protection while also enhancing your communications, professional and personal skills. This exercise is unusual in that it requires you to draw together and use your full range of knowledge, skills, and professional attributes in the framework of a situation of commercial reality.
It is important when studying Plant Protection to realise that although damage is caused to crops and stored products by different groups of pests (e.g. weeds, insects,ﾠpathogens and rodents), the basic biological patterns of these groups show similar patterns and their types of damage often overlap. Quite often, similar approaches are used to manage (control) most of the different groups of pests. This is why this course is taught as Plant Protection rather than as separate courses such as Weed Science, Entomology, Plant Pathology, Pesticide Science, Pesticide Application Technology and aspects of Agronomy. Plant Protection is an integrating course.
The School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability (AGFS) and other parts of UQ have staff who specialise in plant pathology, entomology, weed science, pesticide science, pesticide application technology. The Plant Protection course offered in this program gives us the chance to interact with you both through the field visit and clinical laboratory program. We look forward to the opportunity to work with you in this course.
You will find this a most engaging and interesting course.
Course requirements
Assumed background
It is strongly recommended that students enrolling in this course have previously completed studies in PLNT2011 (Plant and EnvironmentalﾠHealth),ﾠor have conducted similar studies in which a firm background in entomology, weed science, plant pathology and introductory integrated pest management (IPM) has been developed.
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
PLNT2011
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
PLNT7005
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
This course is delivered on-campus at Gatton only. The delivery mode is a single six hour clinical laboratory setting in which student projects and laboratory skills are taught in a collaborative setting. This session is timed to allow students from St Lucia to arrive by the free intercampus bus, and be able to catch the return bus at the end of class. Some field trips and field work conducted in the student's own time are also included in this course.
This course is a co-taught course with PLNT7005. There will be a shared Blackboard site for PLNT3009 and PLNT7005.ﾠ
Aims and outcomes
Plant Protection is a two-unit course of one semester’s duration. This course is designed to allow students to develop a higher level of understanding of the specific biology of the various pest groups with an emphasis on their diagnostics. Clinical approaches to ICM (Integrated Crop Management) based upon the skills, methodology and approaches to crop monitoring, diagnostic skills, pest data interpretation and interaction with clients will also be dealt with in this course. This course is taught as a clinical session which incorporates lectures, practical skills, field work and assignment work all done in a supported environment.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Use your understanding of the biology, taxonomy, ecology and management implications of pest and pathogens to determine the most appropriate diagnostic procedure.
LO2.
Evaluate strategies for economic management of pests.
LO3.
Monitor and report on the outcomes of integrated pest and disease management strategies.
LO4.
Provide professional advice to farmer clients on pest management issues.
LO5.
Demonstrate core practical skills in plant protection using field and laboratory techniques delivering both qualitative and quantitative outcomes.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Production/ Exhibition, Presentation, Product/ Design, Project |
Behaviour Impact
|
20% |
30/08/2024 2:00 pm |
| Creative Production/ Exhibition, Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Essay/ Critique, Practical/ Demonstration, Project |
Plant disease project - characterising micro-organisms
|
25% |
4/10/2024 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Notebook/ Logbook, Placement, Practical/ Demonstration, Project |
Field Monitoring
|
25% |
25/10/2024 2:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final exam
|
30% |
End of Semester Exam Period 2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024 |
Assessment details
Behaviour Impact
- Online
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
- Category
- Creative Production/ Exhibition, Presentation, Product/ Design, Project
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
30/08/2024 2:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Student specific, Peer assessment factor, Work integrated learning.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L04
Task description
Prepare a sharable social media post that effects behaviour change for the management of a selected pest or disease of plants. Please see black board for assessment criteria and rubric.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of
Submission guidelines
You must submit your Assessment task, in Blackboard, via the Turnitin link by the submission deadline. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit. Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL). See 6.1 Assessment Related Policies & Guidelines for links to the University Guidelines and Applications for Extensions.
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item, or one grade per day if graded on the basis of 1-7, or equivalent penalty if an alternative grading approach is used, will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard before the due date of the assessment item.
Plant disease project - characterising micro-organisms
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Creative Production/ Exhibition, Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Essay/ Critique, Practical/ Demonstration, Project
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
4/10/2024 2:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Student specific, Work integrated learning.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03, L04, L05
Task description
A laboratory study to identify the true cause of a plant disease by applying Koch's postulates or general characterisation of microbes.
Your report will be based on your results that you obtained through a series of laboratory sessions on each step of Koch’s Postulates. These include:
- Observing and recording signs and symptoms
- Isolating potential pathogen in a pure culture
- Inoculation and mock-inoculation of healthy host tissue with the pure culture
- Observation of signs and symptoms in inoculated tissues, and
- Re-isolation of pathogen from diseased tissue.
Where available, DNA sequence data will be used to augment your results.
- Each student will conduct laboratory experiments with a selected plant pathogen, describe and prove the concept of Koch’s postulates.
- You will collect sample of a diseased crop tissue (leaves, stems, fruits, or roots) from the field or garden that appear diseased and apply the scientific method used to determine the infectious cause of disease.
- You will describe the disease and the pathogen signs and symptoms; isolate and identify the plant pathogen; inoculate healthy plant tissue; and re-isolate the same pathogen from the inoculated tissue.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of
Submission guidelines
You must submit your Assessment task, in Blackboard, via the Turnitin link by the submission deadline. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit. Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL). See 6.1 Assessment Related Policies & Guidelines for links to the University Guidelines and Applications for Extensions.
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item, or one grade per day if graded on the basis of 1-7, or equivalent penalty if an alternative grading approach is used, will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard before the due date of the assessment item.
Field Monitoring
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Notebook/ Logbook, Placement, Practical/ Demonstration, Project
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
25/10/2024 2:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Student specific, Work integrated learning.
- Learning outcomes
- L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Field monitoring of a crop (broad acre, horticultural, home garden etc) in order to apply the concepts of plant protection in a real life situation.
This involves risk identification and management, a description of the commodity and target pests/diseases, methodologies employed, records, recommended interventions and interpretations.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of
Submission guidelines
You must submit your Assessment task, in Blackboard, via the Turnitin link by the submission deadline. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit.
Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Assessment deadlines are firm and must be met. Late submission without permission or non-submission of assessable work will result in penalties being applied. Late submission of assessment will only be granted for documented medical reasons, accident, bereavement, jury service and other circumstances allowed in the UQ Policies and Procedures Library (PPL). See 6.1 Assessment Related Policies & Guidelines for links to the University Guidelines and Applications for Extensions.
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item, or one grade per day if graded on the basis of 1-7, or equivalent penalty if an alternative grading approach is used, will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.
Submission of an Extension of Assessment Due Date (EADD) should be completed online through your My Requests tab via my.UQ Dashboard before the due date of the assessment item.
Final exam
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
The final exam will based upon the theory covered in the prescribed reading. However, your ability to draw real-life examples encountered during your crop monitoring, or other life experiences should be used, where appropriate, to illustrate your response to exam questions.
The exam will be an on-campus exam. Have your UQ student ID card available for all your exams. Students enrolled in Internal delivery must attend the exam in person.
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 0 - 34% |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 35 - 46% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: 47% - 49% |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 50% - 64% |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 65% - 74% |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 75% - 84% |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 85% - 100% |
Additional course grading information
Course Grading Hurdle:
All Assessment is Compulsory.
If a student obtains an overall percentage greater than the cut-offs set to achieve a 4 or higher for the course based on marks from a combination of progressive assessment and the final exam and the student does NOT submit all assessment items, they are unable to achieve a grade higher than a 3 (failing grade) for the course.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Please note the following when writing your assignments
You must not re-use past work from previous assessments in your assignments.
TurnItIn Assignments
Assignments that are required to be submitted through TurnItIn, must only be uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the Blackboard site.ﾠ
Please type all assignments using 12 point size font, using double line spacing with generous margins. Assignments need to be both legible and presentable to ensure that they are easy for the assessor to read.
Referencing of supporting information should be done via in-text citation, with references listed alphabetically. Use whatever referencing format you like, providing the references are searchable.ﾠ
Results
Unless specifically indicated by the lecturer involved, every attempt will be made to have the results for progressive assessment tasks available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will be available before the day of your end of semester examination in the course, unless otherwise indicated by the Course Coordinator. Results and feedback availability for progressive assessment will be announced via the course Blackboard site.ﾠ
Re-mark Applications – refer to theﾠUniversity's Re-mark Policyﾠto check your eligibility
- Before applying for a remark, students should consider the following:
- You have consulted the course coordinator for feedback
- Your academic grounds for remark have been discussed and are valid
- Wanting a higher grade is not grounds for a remark. A remark can decrease your grade.
- Remark applicationsﾠwill notﾠbe considered without first having contacted your course Co-ordinator
Deferred and Supplementary assessment (including Deferred Mid-Semester Examinations)
Deferred and Supplementary information can be located on the my.UQ website
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Other course materials
If we've listed something under further requirement, you'll need to provide your own.
Required
| Item | Description | Further Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| PLNT3009 Course Profile | provides details of specifications, rationale, aims and structure of the course. It also informs you of the assessment for this course, including weightings and due dates. | |
| PLNT3009 Blackboard site | Blackboard is the main method of communication for this course. https://learn.uq.edu.au/ |
Recommended
| Item | Description | Further Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Hand Lens is highly recommended | Jeweller's loupe/10x hand lens for field monitoring. |
Additional learning resources information
The Plant Protection book series by Ruth Kerruish are key resources for this course. Plant Protection 4 - How to diagnose plant problems is a resource that should be used in the laboratory.
The other three volumes may also be useful - all are available as free downloads.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (22 Jul - 28 Jul) |
General contact hours |
Introduction and housekeeping Course introduction, laboratory induction, media preparation, campus walk, disease collection and inspection Learning outcomes: L01 |
Week 2 (29 Jul - 04 Aug) |
Fieldwork |
Field inspection Field inspection, data and sample collection. Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
Week 3 (05 Aug - 11 Aug) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work Sample processing, isolation techniques and specimen curation. Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Week 4 (12 Aug - 18 Aug) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work Subculturing, specimen characterisation, microscopy. Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Week 5 (19 Aug - 25 Aug) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work Plant inoculation, culture preservation, DNA extraction. Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Week 6 (26 Aug - 01 Sep) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work Symptom characterisation, re-isolation, PCR, gel, sample purification. Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Week 7 (02 Sep - 08 Sep) |
General contact hours |
Laboratory exercise Culture inspections and characterisation. Report preparation. Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 8 (09 Sep - 15 Sep) |
Fieldwork |
Disease management inspection Visit local farm and determine factors involved in disease occurrence and management. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Week 9 (16 Sep - 22 Sep) |
Fieldwork |
Sugarcane inspection Travel to sugarcane cropping area, inspect for diseases and discuss management options. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Week 10 (30 Sep - 06 Oct) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work Interpretation of molecular results. Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Week 11 (07 Oct - 13 Oct) |
General contact hours |
Visit to BRIP Herbarium Deliver samples to Brisbane Herbarium. Meet experts to discuss their field of expertise. Learning outcomes: L01, L04 |
Week 12 (14 Oct - 20 Oct) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work Disease modelling exercise. Report preparation. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L05 |
Week 13 (21 Oct - 27 Oct) |
General contact hours |
Lab based clinical work SECaT submission, course review, revision, exam preparation. Learning outcomes: L01, L03 |
Not Timetabled |
Revision period Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:
- Laboratory Occupational Health and Safety