Agronomy BAG306

Learn broad acre farming of arable crops, broadleaf and cereal crops.

• Start any time, study from anywhere and at your own pace
• Prepare for a new business or career; or build on existing skills, knowledge and experience
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Course Structure and Content

1. INTRODUCTION TO AGRONOMIC PRACTICES
   Introduction
   Crop Types
   Plant structure and Function
   Transpiration rate
   Selection Criteria for Plants
   Understanding monoculture
   Row Crops
   Cover Crops
   Crop Operations
   Planter types
2. CULTURE - WHAT INFLUENCES CROP GROWTH
   Soils
   Problems with soils
   Loss of soil problems
   Erosion
   Salinity
   Soil sodicity
   Soil acidity and alkalinity
   Improving soils
   Cultivation techniques
   Plant nutrition
   Nutrient deficiencies
   Organic fertilisers
   Soil life
   Insect Pests
   Diseases
3. CROP HUSBANDRY PRACTICES
   Operations
   Identifying weeds
   Ways to control weeds
   Spraying
   Irrigation
   Chemical crop protection
   Preparing plant pathogens for microscopic observation
   Culturing Pathogens
   Natural pest and disease control
   Physical controls
   Organic sprays and dusts
4. SEED AND SEED MANAGEMENT
   Seed storage
   Types of seed storage
   Seed vigour testing
   Dormancy factors affecting germination
   Germination treatments
   Types of media
   Media derived from rock or stone
   Media derived from synthetic materials
   Organic media
   Diseases
   Salinty build up
5. ARABLE CEREAL CROPS
   Cereal crops
   Zadock scale
   Wheat
   Barley
   Oats
   Triticale
   Sorghum
   Maize
   Rice
   Millet
   Sugar cane
   Ryegrass
   Hay and Silage
   Quality control
   Storage and handling
   Hydroponic fodder
6. ARABLE BROADLEAF CROPS
   Characteristics of broadleaf crops
   Oil crops
   Chickpeas
   Narrow-leafed lupins
   Canola
   Faba beans
   Cover crops
   Common legumes
7. HARVESTING
   Crop preparation for harvest
   Crop harvest equipment
   Forage harvesting equipment
   Cereal harvesting equipment
   Root crop harvesting equipment
   Grain storage
   Contract harvesting
8. CROP MANAGEMENT - SPECIAL PROJECT
   Crop management from planting to post harvest handling

Course Duration: 100 hours

Extract from Course Notes

CEREAL CROPS
To successfully achieve high yields in cereal crops, agronomic practices need to be correct. Cereal crop production can be influenced by many factors such as irrigation layout, growing the right crop for the right climate, soil structure, and timing of fertiliser application, stubble retention, good rotation practices and weed control.

These factors can greatly influence the yield potential of many cereal crops including wheat and sorghum.

Zadock ScaleTo understand the growth stages of cereal crops one must become familiar with the Zadock Scale. The Zadock Scale was developed by a Dutch scientist Jan Zadock and is now commonly used by agronomists for crop management decisions and research scientists for crop research. The Zadock Scale goes from 0-99. You can find Zadock Scales on the internet and in Agronomy books. Take the time to get acquainted with these.

Having looked at the comprehensive list and description for each stage, we will now look at a snap shot, of the different stages. It is not essential to know exactly what each stage is, however it is very useful to know for instance that Z14-Z21 is early tillering, or at the Z35-Z45 stage the crop is starting to boot. This is all important because there will be times when you will be reading a document that refers to a cereal crop by the Zadock stage, and rather than thinking “what stage are they talking about” you can go back to the link above or look at the table below and get an idea of what crop stage they mean. Some herbicide and fungicide labels will specify a particular Zadock stage for application, so having this background knowledge is important. The Zadock growth stage applies to many cereal crops (eg. wheat, barley, oats, and triticale).

With your new knowledge of the Zadock Scale, we will break it down into the key stages. After emergence you will refer to the crop by the number of leaves present, until the plant develops 5 leaves. For example when inspecting a newly emerged crop you could be looking a 2-3 leaves per plant. Some herbicides are safe to apply once the crop has reached 2 leaves, some herbicides cannot be applied once the crop has reached the 5 leaf stage. Once the crop has developed 5 leaves you would then refer to the crop as early tillering. Usually during this stage if timely rainfall occurs, the secondary roots develop.

Introducing our School

ACS was established in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was lecturing for various colleges (TAFE, Higher Education, University) Community Centers and Council of Adult Education in Australia.

High standards were adopted from the start; for example:

• Tutors hold a 3 year, full time post secondary qualification (outside education)
• Tutors have 5 years relevant experience
• Courses (modules or short courses) are 100 hours duration
• Certificates are generally 600 hours

By adhering to standards ACS has built sound credentials and is regarded and recognized highly by academics and industry professionals globally.

Our philosophy is relatively simple, but not always common in education today:

We believe education should aim to improve a student’s capacity to understand and develop in their chosen field of study; and that a course is a starting point that lays a foundation for future development. We believe quality education requires real life interaction between the teacher and student; and restricting access to tutors can devalue the quality of a course. Education is not just about information (any book or web site can provide that). Good education is a carefully contrived and delivered learning experience that changes the student, improving their ability to function within the discipline they study.

Graduates from ACS have been successful in all types of vocational situations, winning jobs and developing careers in academic positions, through to small business and trades.

We welcome the opportunity to talk (or communicate via email) with any prospective student before they enroll with us. Let us help you make the best choice of course. There are many well established facts regarding education which people often discover when it is too late, for example:

• Over 60% of people do not end up working in the field they studied (even university degree graduates)
• Most people who commence courses (college, polytechnic, TAFE, university) never complete them.
• While some people can earn big money in “some” professions, a qualification is rarely a guarantee for big earnings.
• Being successful in business requires a certain personality type as well as other things
• Most accredited courses take years to develop and approve –which in today’s fast paced world often means they are out of date before you graduate.

Our staff know their industries, and before you even enroll, they can provide very unique insights that can be a great help in helping you choose something that is appropriate and useful for your needs.