Introductory Crop Physiology
Course Overview
Official detailed syllabus from the ICAR Sixth Deans’ Committee curriculum.
Course Objectives
i. To study different physiological plant aspects such as water uptake and movement in horticultural plants, nutrient absorption, assimilation ii. To study factors affecting photosynthesis and its importance in plants
Theory Syllabus
Water Relations in Plants: Role of water in plant metabolism, osmosis inhibition, diffusion, water potential and its components, measurement of water potential in plants, absorption of water, mechanism of absorption and ascent of sap. Stomata: Structure, distribution, classification, mechanism of opening and closing of stomata. Osmotic pressure, guttation, stem bleeding; transpiration methods and mechanism and factors affecting transpiration. Drought: Different types of stresses; water, heat and cold tolerance; mechanism of tolerance. Plant Nutrition: Essentiality, mechanism of absorption and its role in plant metabolism. Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Photosynthesis, structure and function of chloroplast, dark and light reactions, cyclic and on-cyclic electron transfer, CO2 fixation – C3, C4 and CA metabolism, advantages of C4 pathway. Photorespiration and its implications, factors affecting photosynthesis. Mode of herbicide action, Secondary metabolites and plant defense.
Practical Syllabus
Measurement of water potential, osmosis, root pressure, structure of the stomata, distribution, opening and closing of the stomata, measurement, transpiration and calculation of transpiration pull demonstration. Importance of light and chlorophyll in photosynthesis, pigment identification in horticultural crops, measurement of relative water content (RWC), studying plant movements.
Suggested Readings
1. Bendre A M and Pande P C. 2009. Introductory Botany. Rastogi publication, Meerut.
2. Bhatia K N. 2015. Plant Physiology. Trueman Book Company, Jalandhar.
3. Dutta A C. 2013. A Textbook of Botany. Oxford University Press, Oxford Lecture Schedule.
4. Gardner F P, Pearce R Band Mitchell R L. 2003. Physiology of Crop Plants. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur.
5. Jain V K. 2019. Fundamentals of Plant Physiology. S Chand Publishers, New Delhi.