i. Course Title: CS 104- AGRICULTURAL BOTANY
ii. Course aim:
To provide students with knowledge and skills which will enable them to name, identify, classify and describe plant species important to field and horticultural crops.
iii. Course expected learning outcome(s):
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
• Name and describe plant species and characteristics important to field and horticultural crops through features of anatomy, morphology, reproduction and taxonomy.
• Describe techniques for collection, preparation and storage of plant specimens for future use.
• Apply acquired skills to collect and store plant specimens for future use.
iv. Course status: Core
v. Credit rating: 10 Credits
vi. Total hours spent:
Lectures 24 hours
Tutorial 10 hours
Assignments 12 hours
Independent Study 06 hours
Practical 48 hours
vii. Course content
Introduction: Meaning and scope of botany, characteristics of living organisms, distinction characteristics of angiosperms and gymnosperms. Morphology: The shoot system: the stem forms, habits, modified stems and branching. The leaf features, classification and phylotaxy, Morphological adaptation to specialized habits. The root system: Development, characteristics and modifications. Reproduction in flowering plants of field and horticultural importance. Floral morphology, the inflorescence, flower parts and variations of floral parts: floral diagrams, floral symmetry and floral formulae; pollination, fertilization and formation of seeds. Fruits and fruit classification. Plant Anatomy: The plant cell, plant meristems, tissues and tissue systems: structure and functions; secondary growth, anatomical adaptations to specialized habits of agricultural importance. Plant taxonomy: Definitions and concepts used in plant taxonomy. Sources of taxonomic information, principles of botanical nomenclature. Ways and means to plant classifications and identification. Identification key and key construction. Field and herbarium techniques. Identification and description of important plant families of field and horticulture.
Practical skills:
Field plant identification, naming and sampling; Collection, preparation and preservation of plant specimens for herbarium; Field Studies of Pollinators Visitation and Flowers; Laboratory exercise – Floral morphology; Field and laboratory exercises – Seeds and Fruits.
viii. Teaching and learning activities
Teaching methodology will include lectures, tutorials; take home group and individual assignments, Independent reading assignments.
ix. Assessment methods
Assessment methods for this course shall comprise of theory tests, quizzes, assignments and the end-of- semester university examination:
x. Reading list
Braungart, D.C. and Arnette, R.H. 1965. An introduction to Plant Biology. 2nd Ed. The C.V. Mosby Company, Saint Louis, 420pp.
Cutter, E.G. 1969. Plant anatomy: Experiment and Interpretation, part 1. Edward Arnold Ltd. London, 168pp.
Kokwaro, J.O. 1994. Flowering plant families of East Africa: An introduction to plant taxonomy. East African Educational Publishers Ltd. Nairobi.
Stace, C.A. 1980. Plant taxonomy and Biosystematics. Edward Arnold London, Melbourne, Auckland, 279pp.
Stuessy, T.F. 1990. Plant Taxonomy: The systematic evaluation of comparative data. Columbia University Press. New York, Oxford, 514pp.