Irrigation and Farm Management (AGR 475)
Content: (i) Theory- Irrigation: definition and background; importance of irrigation; soil physical properties in relation to irrigation practices; irrigation water requirement; time of application of irrigation; conveyance, distribution and field application systems; methods of irrigation, their advantages and disadvantages; measurement of irrigation water loss; present status of irrigation in Bangladesh; common problems in irrigated agriculture and their remedies; drainage of agricultural lands; Farm management: concept and definition; principles of farm management; consideration for establishment of a farm; farm types, structure and farm layout; crop planning, cropping systems, crop rotation, farming systems; Farm budgeting and Farm planning: partial and enterprise budgets, farm budgeting; resource inventory and management of resources; farm efficiency measures and enterprise diversification; Financial management: record keeping, balance sheet and cashbook; risk management; personnel management. (ii) Practical: Identification and use of irrigation machinery; determination of irrigation water requirement; farm layout preparation; layout of the experimental plot; farm records and their maintenance; Preparation of cropping scheme, crop rotation schedules, crop calendar; crop cutting experiment; economic analysis of an enterprise; visit an agricultural farm and preparation and presentation of the report.
Principles of Crop Production (AGR 501)
Content: Definition and domain of agronomy; plant and plant kingdom: origin, domestication, and diversity of plants, gene pool system, classification of crops, structural and functional organization of crop plants, the economy of plant forms and functions, development of plant; crop improvement: aerial environment, below ground (root) environment; plant processes: radiation and photosynthesis, soil-plant-water relations; crop yield: determination of crop yields, ecology of crop yield in relation to climate change, physiological aspects of yield improvement of crops, yield increases-trend, limits, and prospects.
Climate Change and Crop Production (AGR 610)
Content: Scenarios of climate change; global warming: causes and effects on agriculture; climate data for agricultural planning and management; land-use change: threats and opportunities; ecosystem change and management; resource management and programs to mitigate the risk of crop production associated with climate change; crop development: agronomic options and genetic adaptation of crops to drought, salinity, excess moisture/flooding, temperature, etc. climate resilience cropping systems for the climatically vulnerable area of Bangladesh; climate change research strategies.