Syllabus / Curriculum design
Lectures:

Potatoes - crop agronomy, storage.

Sugar beet: physiology, agronomy.

Combinable break crops: need for and range of crops.

Maize: botany, environmental requirements, agronomy, harvesting, ensiling, feed value, economics.

Visits, practicals and seminars:

Maize experimental plot visit; Sugar beet and sugar beet factory visit.

Aims of the module
The module aims to introduce students to the husbandry of non-cereal arable crops through a series of lectures, visits and seminars. The crops covered will be sugar beet, potatoes, combinable break crops and maize.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to:

i) explain the marketing environment for potatoes and sugar beet

ii) identify the critical factors in achieving high yields of sugar beet and potatoes

iii) critically appraise the husbandry of a crop of sugar beet in a practical context

iv) appreciate the need for and range of combinable break crops

v) describe the husbandry of the oilseed rape crop

vi) identify the factors restricting maize production in the UK