Learn different methods of plant protection
-
Sanitation – maintaining good hygiene
-
Physical control methods e.g. mowing, slashing, burning, flooding, hand removal, physical barriers (ie. netting, fences), etc.
-
Using plant varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases
-
Biological controls
-
Chemical controls (artificial and naturally derived).
-
Soil drenches/dips
Course Aims:
- Identify the broad category which a plant health problem belongs to.
- Explain a range of methods for controlling plant problems.
- Select appropriate chemical pesticides for different problems.
- Identify the symptoms of different plant diseases, including most common and some uncommon problems, in your locality.
- Develop procedures to control specific plant diseases.
- Identify different insects, including significant taxonomic orders, common pest species, and some less common pest species
- Determine appropriate methods to control different types of insects.
- Identify different non-insect pests found in the learner’s locality.
- Determine appropriate control methods for different non-insect pests.
- Identify different non-insect pests found in the learner’s locality.
- Determine appropriate control methods for different non-insect pests.
- Manage the control of different types of weed problems.
There are 10 lessons in this course:
- Introduction: scientific names, terms, diagnosing problems.
- Control Techniques: biological and chemical techniques, alternative methods.
- Chemicals: characteristics of chemicals.
- Identifying Diseases: symptoms, fungi and viruses and other pathogens.
- Disease Control: life cycle of fungi.
- Insect Classification: biology and insect classification.
- Insect Control: how to control pests.
- Non Insect Pests: nematodes, snails, centipedes, etc.
- Chemical Weed Control: weed identification.
- Non‑chemical Weed Control: natural control methods.
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.