Vegetable Crops Production – Syllabus and Lecture Schedule

Instructor:

Dr. Carl Motsenbocker

School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences
Louisiana State University
239 Julian Miller Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: (225) 578-6002
E-mail: [email protected]

Office Hours:

Dr. Motsenbocker’s office hours are available by appointment and should be scheduled via
telephone or email.

Students taking the course through the ACCEPtS program may call, e-mail, or post the questions
in the course Questions and Comments forums in Moodle.

Credits:

You will receive 3 semester credits for this course.

Objectives and Learning Goals:

This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the principles and
practices of sustainable vegetable crops production and physiology. Students will learn about
soil fertility management, stand establishment (seed, transplants), environmental modification
(mulches, row covers, high tunnels, greenhouses), pest management, greenhouse production,
and the production practices and physiological aspects of specific vegetable crops.

Course Objectives:

With successful completion of this course, the student will obtain the following learning
outcomes:
1. Demonstrate proficiency in the cultural and management considerations of
successful sustainable vegetable crops production.
2. Be familiar with the physiological aspects of vegetable crops growth and
development.
3. Be familiar with vegetable crops environmental modification and plasticulture
systems.
4. Be familiar with successful vegetable crops harvest and marketing.
5. Be familiar with the commercial vegetable industry.
Course Progress and Participation:

It is especially important that students set aside a regular time to study the course content and
participate in the assignment discussions. Students who do so learn more and perform better on
exams than students who fail to regularly read and work with the course content. Be sure to pay
attention to assignment deadlines and exam dates. These will help to keep you moving through
the course material and up to date.

Failure to complete assignments on time will result in a 0% grade for those activities.
Unless an advisor’s (in the case of a conflicting university-sponsored activity) or
physician’s statement (in the case of illness) is provided regarding such failures. NO late
work will be accepted.

Recommended Text:

There are no required texts for this course. The instructor will ask each university to have the
recommended texts below on reserve for the class at your campus library.

 Producing Vegetable Crops. 2002. J.M. Swiader and G.W. Ware. Interstate Publishers,
Danville, IL.

 World Vegetables: Principles, Production, and Native Values. 1997. V.E. Rubatzky and
M. Yamaguchi.

Required Reading:
In addition, Dr. Motsenbocker will provide additional reading assignments in Moodle during the
semester. All reading assignments are considered testable material.

Other Requirements:

It should be understood that this class is taught online and that lectures, discussion assignments,
and (proctored) exams will be administered via the internet. Students are responsible for all
information posted on Moodle and should have access to the internet throughout the semester.
While administrative and technical support for the class Moodle site is available during regular
business hours, individual assistance with issues related to your personal computer or software
will not be readily provided. You must have a basic level of computer/web-based competency in
order to function successfully in the course. You should be able to:
• send and receive email – and send/receive attachments
• upload and download documents
• use browser to access web sites and streamed video
• upload assignment files in Moodle
• use basic features of word processing software
• comment and respond to others in a Moodle forum
• Use text editors and fields provided within Moodle to type responses.
Distance Delivery:

Moodle will be used as the course management system for this course. Students must login with
their username and password in order to access LSU CE Moodle system.
To access Moodle, go to http://moodle2.outreach.lsu.edu
For best functionality, we recommend using Firefox or Chrome as your browser when using
Moodle. Browser download information can be found on the Moodle login page.
All course materials necessary for this class will be posted on Moodle. All assignments, quizzes,
and exams will also be administered through Moodle unless otherwise specified.

Working Through the Course:

The course material is broken up into topic modules within Moodle. Modules covered will
follow a weekly schedule, with some modules covering two weeks of material. New modules
cannot be accessed until a specific date (See Lecture Schedule). Usually, new modules will be
available each Sunday at 11:59 pm, unless noted otherwise. To open the module, click on the
arrow next to the topic title.

Each topic module will include the learning objectives, video lectures and corresponding notes,
the required quizzes and homework assignment, and any other resources related to that module.

Each topic module will also include a designated “Questions and Comments” forum for the
specific content covered in that module. Use this forum to post questions to your professor or
other students about what is being discussed that week. Do not be afraid to post questions in
these forums! While you may not get an immediate response, forums are monitored daily and
you can expect to receive a response in a timely manner. Please be aware that these forums are
for the entire class’s benefit and that any post will be viewable by all students. If you have a
personal question about grades, please send a direct email to your professor.

Quizzes:

Each module will have a 10 point quiz on the content covered in that topic module. Quizzes are
administered online through Moodle and must be taken during the time the quiz is open. Quizzes
will usually be available for the duration of the module but you must take the quiz before the
posted due date. Pay attention to due dates! You should have ample time to take each quiz so
missed quizzes will not be allowed to be made up without an advisor’s or physician’s statement!
You will have one attempt at the quiz and you will have 60 minutes to complete the quiz once
you start the attempt. Quizzes are designed so that students must keep up with lecture topics
from the beginning of each week, so even though you may use notes during the quiz you should
try to study the lectures and readings before you start your attempt.
Note: Do NOT attempt quizzes from mobile phones or tablets! Moodle quiz functionality is not
consistent on mobile devices. You will not be allowed to make up quizzes due to technical
difficulties from mobile devices.
Assignments:

Students are required to complete module homework assignments that will count as 20% of the
final course grade. Assignments may include Discussion Forums, or other written assignments
and activities. Each assignment will be worth 100 points.

In the case of forum assignments, students MUST participate in online discussions for
participation points as part of the assignment grade. Students are required to post a response
to the assignment question AND review and discuss other classmates’ responses as well.
You will be graded for your initial response and your participation with your classmates’
responses. DO NOT leave initial responses in the forums to the last minute! You should allow
adequate time for other students to read and discuss your response. Responses made within 24
hours of the close of the discussion forum will not receive full credit. You do not have to
comment on every post made in the forum but you should comment on what interests you.
Responses and comments to postings should be created in the text field provided and not as an
attachment unless the instructions specifically state uploading a file. Students will be assessed
on initial response content, timeliness and frequency of comments to other students’ posts - one
post per forum is not a discussion! (Discussion Forums are a place for your voice to be heard
and to interact with your classmates. Share your opinions, thoughts, and ideas on the specific
topic, however you must use etiquette and respect others. Please use mature language and be
considerate of others.)

Pay close attention to the assignment instructions and due dates. Assignment instructions will
include a more detailed breakdown of grading criteria.

Grower/Farmer’s Market Profile:

You will be selected to conduct either a grower or farmers market profile in your area. A list will
be provided to you and you will be assigned a particular grower/farmers market operation. You
are required to collect and then provide information to the class during Midterms week and at
the end of the semester on the production, postharvest and marketing practices of a local farm
operation or the history and information on a farmers market.

You will be required to post a brief overview to the class (no more than 3 to 5 paragraphs)
during midterm week on the progress of your class project.

The final project report will consist of 3 parts: a written report (no more than 5 pages), a
presentation (10 to 15 slides) that will be uploaded in a forum for the class to review. You will
also include a short (one paragraph) grower/farmers market profile overview in your forum post.

The overall project goal is to provide an example of successful grower/farmer’s market

operations and learn how these relate to the local and regional food system. It is expected that
you will make arrangements to visit the farm/farm market, interview the farm owner or
operators/market manager, take pictures of the farm/farmers market, etc. In your report, please
identify the source of your information and contact info. Additional instructions and
Grower/Farmers Market lists will be available in Moodle in the “Project: Grower/Farmer’s
Market Profile” module.

Exams:

There will be a midterm and final exam. Questions on the exam will be multiple choice,
true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and short-answer/essay. Exams will be taken during the weeks
specified in the lecture schedule; however, the specific dates will be determined at the beginning
of the semester. You will be notified of the specific dates. Exams will be proctored on site at
the student’s home institution. Off campus students are responsible for setting up an
approved proctor location and time. Off campus students must submit proctor information to
both Dr. Motsenbocker and your university coordinator within the first two weeks of class.

Students will be sent an e-mail with the exam room location and specific details. Exams will be
taken online through Moodle during specific time slots in a monitored computer lab. Failure to
complete exams during this time will result in 0 points unless previously discussed with the
instructor.

Course Grading:

Quizzes 10%
Module Assignments* 20%
Grower/Farmer’s Market Profile 10%
Midterm exam 25%
Final exam 35%
TOTAL 100%

*Graduate students will have additional assignments that will count towards the 20% Module
Assignment grade.

Letter Grade Assignment:

90% − 100% = A
80% − 89% = B
70% − 79% = C
60% − 69% = D
0% − 59% = F

Code of Student Conduct:

It is the responsibility of all students to familiarize themselves with the Code of Student Conduct
and other University rules and regulations governing student conduct and activities.
Academic dishonesty:

Academic dishonesty can result in probation, suspension, or expulsion from the course. For
more information, refer to your handbook of responsibility in student university relationship or
refer to the Code of Conduct that can be found in the Office of the Dean of Students website
within the LSU home page.

Disabilities Statement:

If you have special needs addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please notify your
instructor immediately for proper accommodations.

Helpful Tips:

 TIME MANAGEMENT!!!!!
o DO NOT view lectures at the end of the week. You will never have enough time
to understand the material before exams. Allow time EVERYDAY to go over
lecture material, assigned textbook readings, supplemental readings and other
available resources on Moodle. You will spend at least 3 hours every week
listening to lecture material.
 Print out corresponding PowerPoint’s for each lecture before watching the video. Follow
along as you listen and TAKE NOTES!
 Students should consider getting together as groups and watch lectures together. The
amount of information covered in this class can sometimes be overwhelming. Watching
lectures and taking notes together can make it easier to keep yourself and other
classmates on track.
 CHECK MOODLE EVERYDAY! This is an interactive class with new information
being posted often.
 Take advantage of the Question and Comment area in each Module Topic. If you are
confused about something in the class, use the corresponding forum to post it! Other
students may have the same questions and this forum allows classmates to talk to each
other.

(See Lecture, Assignment, & Exam Schedule on next page)

 Tentative Lecture, Assignment, & Exam Schedule

Module Date Topic Source*

August 26 – PVC 1 & 2,
1 Introduction to Vegetable Industry
September 7 WV 1-5
2 September 8 – 15 Vegetable Growing Principles WV 6 & 7
September 16 – PVC 5, 6, 7, 8,
3 Crop Establishment & Management
29 9
September 30 – Plasticulture & Modification of the Plant
4 Articles
October 6 Environment
5 October 7 – 13 Sustainable Agriculture Articles
6 October 14 – 20 Greenhouse Vegetables PVC 29
Mid-Term Exam (covers Modules 1 – 5)
- The specific date/time of exam TBD
EXAM October 14 – 19
- Grower/Farmer’s Market Profile
overview due
Root & Tuberous Crops: Sweet Potato &
7 October 21 – 27 PVC 23 & 26
Irish Potato
October 28 –
8 Solanaceous Crops PVC 22 & 27
November 3
Sweet corn & growing degree days;
9 November 4 – 10 PVC 11 & 25
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
November 11 – Root Crops;
10 PVC 15 & 20
17 Onions and Allium species
November 18 – Cole Crops;
11 PVC 14, 17, 19
24 Cucumber and Cucurbit Vegetables
November 25 – PVC 10,
12 Post Harvest Handling – GAPS
December 1 Articles
Direct Marketing – Farmers Markets; Local
/ Community Food Programs
13 December 2 – 8 Articles
- Final Report and Presentation of
Grower/Farmer’s Market Profile due
Final Exam
EXAM December 9 – 13
The specific date/time of exam TBD
(Dates may be subject to change upon notification from professor)

*PVC refers to material from the Producing Vegetable Crops textbook.

*WC refers to material from the World Vegetables textbook.