Learning outcomes:

At the end of the course unit student should be able to

• discuss plant defense response against microbial pathogens,
• outline the microbial processes in soil related to crop productivity,
• diagnose common microbial diseases in fish,
• assess the microbiological quality of fish and shellfish,
• collect and interpret microbiological data and write a report on relevant to a special topic.

Course content:
Soil & Agricultural Microbiology
Soil microbiology: microbiological factors in crop productivity; manipulation of Soil microorganisms and soil microbial processes to optimize, crop productivity (soil biotechnology). Biogeochemical cycle.
Agricultural Microbiology. Plant microbe interactions and microbiology of crop residue management, Microbial disease of crops and ornamental plants. Plant disease management: integrated ecological control.

Fishery microbiology
Microbiological examination of fish and shellfish: methods of sampling fish and shellfish, Examination of diseased fish.  Microflora of healthy animals, Bacterial pathogens of aquatic vertebrates, fish viruses.  Methods for disease diagnosis.  Public health indicator organisms in fish & shellfish.

Special topics
Selected areas of current interests will be given as special topics.

Method of teaching and learning:

Throughout the year course with a combination of lectures, tutorials, field visits, computer assisted learning and assignments.

Assessment:

Continuous assessment and end of the course unit examination.

Recommended reading:

1. Agrios, G.N (1997). Plant Pathology, Academic Press
2. Dikinson and Lucas (1998). Plant Pathology and Plant Pathogens. Blackwell
3. Science, Inc. Oxford, UK.
4. Matthews, R.E.F (1992). Plant Virology.San Diego, Academic Press
5. Schaad, N.W. (2001). Plant Pathogenic Bacteria APS Press
6. Scheffer R.P. ( 1997). The nature of Diseases in Plants. Cambridge University Press.
7. Materials related to the special topics.