HERBACEOUS CROPS

The discipline aims to provide the students with the elements of agronomic analysis of the herbaceous crops of relevant interest for Italian agriculture, in the present agricultural production scenario or in the near future. Each crop is treated considering:

1. Botanical framing and description of botanical characters 2. Origin and diffusion 3. Economic and agricultural importance 4. Main uses 5. Biology 6. Needs for climate, soil and nutrition 7. Genetic improvement 8. Characteristics of populations and of cultivated varieties 9. Cultivation technique and the qualitative characteristics and utilization of productions and by-products. Each of these aspects is examined in relation to the state of art and practical experience, in a context of sustainable management of the agroecosystem, with particular reference to the characteristics of the Mediterranean environment.

The teaching will be done through lectures, preparation of essays and presentation of the same with multimedia systems. As exercise it is expected the identification of seeds and plant parts of the studied crops.

Economic importance of herbaceous crops in the world in Europe, Italy; Classification criteria for herbaceous crops; Method of classification and treatment of herbaceous crops. Grain crops: common and hard wheat; barley, oats, rye; maize and sorghum; rice. Pulses: beans, chickpeas, lentils, beans, lupins, peppers, peas, soybean. Oil crops: rapeseed, sunflower, Brassica carinata and other brassicacee crops.Open field vegetable crops: artichoke, potato, tomato. Fiber crops: flax, hemp, cotton. Energy crops: annuals and perennials for the production of bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, heat and electricity. Fodder crops (herbs): herbs, meadows, pastures

1) Baldoni R., Giardini L.- 2000-Coltivazioni erbacee Patron Editore Bologna

2) Lecture notes, bibliographic material and online teaching material provided by the teacher