It always seems that the more work you do in a garden, the more pest and disease problems seem to appear. For this reason, the keen home gardener and the professional landscaper need to be aware about what pests and diseases they may come in contact with, and how to control them.

This short plant health course will help in the identification of these problems. Without correct identification, it would be very difficult to suggest a suitable method of control. For example, a hole in a leaf may indicate damage by a pathogen such as a fungus, bacterium, or virus, or it could be caused by an insect. If you thought the problem was caused by an insect and sprayed it with an insecticide, but it was actually caused by a virus, then the spray is totally wasted.

This course will help the home gardener and those working in horticulture at an entry level to identify and control a range of the most common pests and diseases of plants.

We live in an age of heightened environmental awareness where there is an emphasis on caring for our environment through sustainable land management, farming, and horticultural practices which includes reducing the use of chemicals. It is therefore important that plant problems are correctly identified so that an appropriate treatment can be chosen. This will help to prevent useless spraying of possibly harmful chemicals or, perhaps more importantly, the spraying of beneficial insects.

How does it work?

At the end of each lesson, you will be given a short interactive test to undertake, which will provide an indication of how your learning is progressing. Upon completing the very last lesson, you will be offered a more thorough automated test or examination. This final assessment can be undertaken at any time of day or night; and any day of the week; and if you achieve an overall pass (60% or more); you will be able to obtain a “certificate of completion” with your name and completion date on it.

Note: these short courses are self-guided online courses and are not to be confused with our tutor-supported online courses.

There are 6 Lessons in this course:

1. Identifying problems
2. Treating problems
3. Problems and the plants they affect
4. Pests
5. Diseases
6. Environmental problems