PPS 500 Advanced Crop Physiology

Plant cell structure and functions. Plant cell water relations. Photosynthesis and respiration (photo and thermo chemical reactions, analysis photosynthetic pathways of C3, C4 and Crassulacean acid metabolism [CAM] and the effect of environmental factors). Photosynthetic efficiency in agricultural crops (photosynthesis, photorespiration, the potential for increasing crop photosynthesis, canopy architecture and interception of solar radiation, optimum and maximum leaf area indices). Translocation in phloem. Source-sink relationship. Dry-matter partitioning. Growth and development (growth measurements and analysis, factors affecting growth, chemical growth regulators, phytochrome). Carbon isotopic discrimination and water use efficiency in plants. Stress physiology. Environmental pollutants affecting physiological process in plant.