Professor, Dept. of Plant Protection,
Nanjing Agricultural University,
Nanjing 210095, China
ABSTRACT
The Plant Pest Management Curriculum (PPMC) for undergraduate programme in Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) underwent great changes with the progress of science and technology development. Initially, only few basic and specialized courses were offered. Since 1980 and because of the introduction of more advanced technologies from western developed countries to help modernize the agriculture industry in China, the curricula were improved to enable students to master more knowledge. From 1990 onwards, the Master and Ph.D degree programmes expanded rapidly. The main curriculum reform was to reduce the common basic courses, and instead, add key specialized courses and to emphasize the importance of practical skills. Students of Plant Production (majoring in Agronomy, Horticulture, Pedology (Soil Science), Plant Protection, and others) are required to undertake several specialized and basic courses in their respective areas of specialization. For Plant Protection, the five basic courses are Fundamental Entomology, Agricultural Entomology, Fundamental Plant Pathology, Agricultural Plant Pathology and Plant Protection (using pesticides). In addition, students must take other selective courses, and practical work is considered particularly important.
Besides NAU, there are many other agricultural institutions in southern China. In general, the curricula for Pest Management in undergraduate programmes in these institutions are similar. The main difference is usually only in the selective courses. The practical training is also somewhat similar, except it may differ in duration.
INTRODUCTION
Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), directly administered by the Ministry of Education (formerly by both Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Education) of China, is a key national university of higher learning and is one of the earliest higher education establishment of agriculture in China. It enjoys a good reputation both at home and abroad.
Its predecessors were two agricultural colleges belonging to Jinling University (Catholic, established in 1914) and the Central University (state-run, established in 1915), respectively. In 1952, the Nanjing Agricultural College was created as a result of the unification of these two colleges, together with some departments of the Agricultural College of Zhejiang University. In 1984, the college was renamed as Nanjing Agricultural University to reflect the wide-ranging disciplines it offers and the strong position it holds in China.
After a long period of development, NAU, with a total staff of 2,500 and current student enrollment of more than 10,000, has grown into a high level establishment of agricultural education with wide-ranging disciplines and high academic standards. According to the main indexes of the Ministry of Education, NAU is a leading agricultural institution among all others in China. Since 1990s, NAU has been among the top 45 higher education establishments and is one of the top two agricultural institutions in the country. With rapid growth and changes in China's economic conditions, NAU realizes the importance of adjusting its disciplines to meet the needs of the social and economic development. As a result, NAU founded ten colleges, namely, College of Agriculture, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, College of Animal Sciences and Technology (including the College of Fishery), College of Animal Medicine, College of Agricultural Engineering (including the College of Township Enterprises), College of Economics and Trade, College of Food Sciences and Technology, College of Land Management, College of Sciences and College of Humanities and Social Sciences. There are four key scientific disciplines nominated by the Ministry of Education, six key disciplines nominated by the Ministry of Agriculture and five key disciplines nominated by Jiangsu Province. Two post-doctorate programmes, 19 Ph.D. programmes and 40 Master programmes offered by these colleges cover five inter-disciplines of agronomy, engineering, economics, sciences and the arts. Having agronomy as the dominant field, a new structure was formed to integrate the development of agriculture, engineering, economics and the arts. In addition to the ten colleges, NAU also has a Graduate School, a College of Adult Education, an Experimental Farm and an Experimental Stock Farm to facilitate its teaching and outreach programmes. While a new structure was being established, the curriculum underwent major reform to meet the needs of the society under the new economic system in China.
In 1952 when the Nanjing Agricultural College was established, the Department of Pest Management was founded by combining the Department of Pest Management of Central University, the Division of Plant Pathology and the Division of Entomology of Jinling University. It was renamed as the Department of Plant Protection in 1954. Today, the department offers two Ph.D. programmes, two Master programmes (Plant Pathology and Entomology) and one undergraduate (Bachelor) programme (Plant Protection). This paper focuses on the reform of the curriculum for undergraduate programmes of Plant Protection (Pest Management) in NAU and in other institutions of Southern China.
HISTORY OF PLANT PEST MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM
The curriculum for pest management underwent great changes as the science and technology developed. In the early days, when the department had just been established, there were only a few basic courses and specialized courses for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection (or Plant Pest Management) (Table 1). Common basic courses included Language (15 credits, including English, Chinese Literature), Fundamental Sciences (23 credits), Social Sciences (8 credits) and Applied Sciences (18 credits). Required specialized courses (32 credits) included Entomology (Fundamental Entomology, Economic Entomology, Insect Taxonomy, Insect Morphology, Insect Ecology, Apiculture, etc.), Plant Pathology, Bacteriology, Mycology, Plant Physiology, Plant Cytology, Plant Histology, Crop Genetics, Crop Breeding and Pest Control, etc. There was also a Special Practice (2 credits). Students had to write a dissertation before graduation. In essence, the curriculum during that period was rather incomplete.
Table 1. Main specialized courses for undergraduate programme of Pest Management from 1940s to 1970s in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Specialized Courses | Credits | Specialized Courses | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
Plant Physiology | 3 | Fundamental Entomology | 3 |
Plant Cytology | 3 | Insect Taxonomy | 3 |
Plant Histology | 3 | Insect Morphology | 3 |
Crop Genetics | 4 | Insect Ecology | 3 |
Bacteriology | 3 | Pest Control | 3 |
Mycology | 4 | Economic Entomology | 3 |
Plant Pathology | 4 | Apiculture | 3 |
Discussion on Entomology | 2 | Design of Practice | 2 |
Dissertation | 2 | Total | 51 |
Since 1980s, due to the open-door policy of China, more advanced technologies were imported from western developed countries to serve the modernization of China's agriculture and industry. This resulted in the modification of the curriculum in agricultural institutions in China to enable students to master more knowledge. In NAU, more selective courses were added to the curriculum to broaden their range of knowledge, except the compulsory common basic courses (69 credits) which included History, Philosophy, Physical Exercise, Law, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Higher Mathematics, Application of Computer, Computer Language, etc. (Table 2). This new curriculum emphasized a broad knowledge base. Students had more choices to acquire different kinds of knowledge based on their own interests by selecting various courses. However, there were still some disadvantages in the curriculum. It has not paid sufficient attention to the students' practice. Students did not have enough time for practical work and this led to students who graduated with the knowledge of basic principles but little practical experience. This therefore prompted further reform in the curriculum to the one being currently used.
Table 2. Main specialized courses for undergraduate programme of Pest Management during 1980s in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Compulsory Specialized Courses | Credits | Selective Specialized Courses | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
Fundamental Biochemistry | 5 | Mycology | 3 |
Botany | 4 | Insect Taxonomy | 3 |
Fundamental Zoology | 3 | Study on Mites in Agriculture | 3 |
Plant Physiology | 4 | Plant Quarantine | 3 |
Fundamental Microbiology | 3 | Pathology of Economic crop | 3 |
Crop Breeding | 3 | Integrated Pest Management | 2 |
Crop Cultivation | 4 | Epidemiology of Plant Diseases | 1 |
Genetics | 4 | Breeding for Plant Resistance to Diseases | 1 |
Statistics and Field Tests | 3 | Biological Control of Plant Diseases | 3 |
Fundamental Meteorology | 2 | Ecology and Forecasting of Harmful Insects | 3 |
Fundamental Entomology | 5 | Resources of Insect | 2 |
Fundamental Plant Pathology | 5 | Insects in Cities | 2 |
Agricultural Plant Pathology | 4 | Processing and Management of Pesticides | 3 |
Agricultural Entomology | 4 | Bioassay techniques of Insecticides | 2 |
Plant Protection by Pesticides | 5 | Machinery of Plant Protection | 3 |
Practice And Dissertation | 3 | Professional English | 2 |
Mice in Farm Fields | 2 | ||
Recognition and Control of Weeds | 2 | ||
Insect Pathology | 2 | ||
Insect Physiology | 2 | ||
Application of Computer in Plant Protection | 2 | ||
Total | 57 | 49 |
THE REFORM OF CURRICULUM
Since the 1990s, as a result of rapid growth of the Master and Ph.D. programmes, the education of undergraduate programme is now no longer the highest level of tertiary education in China. The purpose of undergraduate education has thus also changed accordingly. But, over the last several years, the old curriculum system had been adopted in most agricultural institutions in China. The main shortcoming of this curriculum system was the requirement of students to know a lot of the basic theory and principles. This has restricted them to book learning and become very narrow in their specific specializations. There is therefore a need to reform the curriculum to overcome this.
The primary guiding ideology for the curriculum reform was to reduce the ratio of the common and compulsory (or basic) courses to that of the key specialized courses and to give emphasis to the importance of practical work. The depth of coverage in the courses was decreased to a level equivalent to undergraduate programme training and also made significantly different from that of the graduate programme training. Every undergraduate student in NAU has to finish 894 academic hours (52 credits) of study in the common basic courses (Table 3). For all students of Plant Production, majoring in Agronomy, Plant Protection, Horticulture and Pedology (Soil Science), etc., it was imperative to take several related basic courses, such as Botany, Fundamental Zoology, Genetics, Crop Cultivation, Introductory Horticulture, Meteorology, etc. (Table 4). Students of Plant Protection must take five key specialised courses: Fundamental Entomology, Agricultural Entomology, Fundamental Plant Pathology, Agricultural Plant Pathology, and Plant Protection by Pesticides (Table 5). There are also more selective courses that cover a wider range of subjects for students to choose from, depending on their interests (Table 6). In addition, there are included various practicals of 21 to 27 weeks.
Table 3. Required common basic courses for undergraduate programme since 1998 in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Courses | Credits | Academic Hours | Note |
---|---|---|---|
History | 3 | 54 | |
Philosophy | 3 | 54 | |
Economy | 3 | 54 | |
English | 16 | 280 | |
Application of Computer (Internet) | 2 | 36 | |
Computer Language | 2 | 40 | |
Law | 2 | 36 | |
Introductory Agronomy | 2 | 36 | |
Physics | 3 | 54 | |
Higher Mathematics I | 4 | 72 | Required |
Higher Mathematics II | 4 | 72 | Selective |
Fundamental Chemistry I | 3 | 70 | Required |
Fundamental Chemistry II | 2 | 40 | Selective |
Introduction to Management | 2 | 36 | |
Organic Chemistry | 3 | 72 | |
Physical Exercise | 4 | ||
Total | 52(58) | 894(1006) |
Table 4. Required basic courses for undergraduate programme specializing in Plant Production since 1998 in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Courses | Credits | Academic Hours | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Fundamental Zoology | 2 | 36 | |
Fundamental Meteorology | 2 | 48 | |
Introductory Horticulture | 3 | 54 | |
Science of Soil and Fertilizer | 3 | 54 | |
Botany | 3 | 72 | |
Plant Physiology | 3 | 72 | |
Fundamental Microbiology | 3 | 72 | |
Genetics | 3 | 72 | |
Statistics and Field Test Design | 4 | 72 | |
Crop Cultivation | 3 | 72 | |
Fundamental Biochemistry | 4 | 90 | |
Total | 33 | 714 |
Table 5. Required key specialized courses for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection since 1998 in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Courses | Credits | Academic Hours | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Fundamental Entomology | 4 | 90 | Plus two weeks of practice |
Agricultural Entomology | 3 | 70 | |
Fundamental Plant Pathology | 4 | 90 | Plus two weeks of practice |
Agricultural Plant Pathology | 3 | 70 | |
Plant Protection by Pesticides | 4 | 90 | |
Total | 18 | 410 | 4 (weeks of practice) |
Table 6. Selective specialized courses for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection since 1998 in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Courses | Credits | Academic Hours |
---|---|---|
1. Principles and Methods of Pest Forecasting | 3 | 54 |
2. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) | 2 | 36 |
3. Epidemiology and Monitor of Plant Diseases | 2 | 54 |
4. Extension of Plant Protection Techniques | 2 | 36 |
5. Regulations and Law of Plant Quarantine | 1 | 18 |
6. Techniques for Plant Quarantine | 2 | 36 |
7. Plant Quarantine Insects | 2 | 36 |
8. Plant Quarantine Pathogens and Weeds | 2 | 36 |
9. Principles of Pesticides | 3 | 54 |
10. Study of Pesticides | 4 | 72 |
11. Processing and Management of Pesticides | 3 | 54 |
12. Bioassay Techniques of Pesticides | 2 | 36 |
13. Plant Pathogenic Fungi | 2 | 36 |
14. Insect Taxonomy | 2 | 36 |
15. Study on Mites in Agriculture | 2 | 36 |
16. Pathology of Economic crop | 2 | 36 |
17. Biological Control of Pests | 2 | 36 |
18. Ecology of Harmful Insects | 2 | 36 |
19. Resources of Insect | 2 | 36 |
20. Insect in Cities | 2 | 36 |
21. Machinery of Plant Protection | 2 | 36 |
22. Professional English | 2 | 36 |
23. Agricultural rat pests | 2 | 36 |
24. Recognition and Control of Weeds | 2 | 36 |
25. Insect Pathology | 2 | 36 |
26. Insect Physiology | 2 | 36 |
27. Statistics and Forecasting | 2 | 36 |
28. Application of Computer in Plant Protection | 2 | 36 |
29. Breeding for Plant Resistance to Diseases | 2 | 36 |
30. Principles of Chemical Industry | 2 | 36 |
31. Analysis of Pesticides | 2 | 36 |
32. Biotechniques in Agriculture | 2 | 36 |
33. Agricultural Environment Protection | 2 | 36 |
34. Sustainable Agriculture | 2 | 36 |
35. Organic Farming | 2 | 36 |
36. Green Food Production | 2 | 36 |
37. Diagnosis of Plant Diseases | 2 | 36 |
38. Techniques of Plant Pathology | 2 | 36 |
Total | 78 | 1422 |
Recently, NAU has revised substantially the curriculum of all undergraduate programmes for students enrolled in 1999. The newly-updated curriculum for plant pest management programme is divided into four different kinds (or levels). These are: (1) Required Basic Courses for all students of NAU; (2) Required Basic Courses for all students majoring in Plant Production; (3) Key Specialized Courses for Plant Pest Management (Plant Protection); and (4) Selective Specialized Courses for Plant Pest Management (Plant Protection). In general, there are no extensive modifications in the required basic courses for all students of NAU. The second group of courses emphasizes related areas that students should have some knowledge in (Table 7). The new curriculum retains the same five key specialized courses with a total of 23 credits and 414 academic hours. The academic hours for each selective courses are reduced to about 40 hours to make the courses smaller. Table 8 shows the revised selective specialized courses for undergraduate programme in Plant Protection. Meanwhile, small and practical courses are also added to the new curriculum (Table 9).
Table 7. Required Basic Courses to All Students of Plant Production Related Programmes in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.
Courses | Credits | Academic Hours |
---|---|---|
Botany | 4 | 72 |
Plant Physiology | 3 | 54 |
Laboratory Techniques of Plant Physiology | 2 | 36 |
Fundamental Microbiology | 3 | 54 |
Fundamental Biochemistry | 5 | 90 |
Genetics | 4 | 72 |
Biostatistics and Field Experiments | 4 | 72 |
Fundamental Meteorology | 3 | 54 |
Introduction to Crop Cultivation | 3 | 54 |
Introduction to Horticulture | 2 | 36 |
Introduction to Soils and Fertilizers | 3 | 54 |
Total | 36 | 648 |
Table 8. Selective specialized courses for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection in Nanjing Agricultural University, China (revised in 2000).
Courses | Credits | Academic Hours |
---|---|---|
1. Biological Control of Plant Diseases | 1 | 18 |
2. Introduction to Molecular Plant Pathology | 1 | 18 |
3. Agricultural Acarology | 2 | 30 |
4. Biological Control of Insect Pests | 2 | 30 |
5. Contamination and Ecology of Chemicals | 2 | 30 |
6. Extension of Plant Protection Techniques | 2 | 30 |
7. Insect Pathology | 2 | 30 |
8. Integrated Management of Insect Pests | 2 | 30 |
9. Processing and Management of Pesticides | 2 | 30 |
10. Diseases of Horticultural Crops | 2 | 35 |
11. Agricultural Environment Protection | 2 | 36 |
12. Agricultural Rat Pests | 2 | 36 |
13. Application of Computer in Plant Protection | 2 | 36 |
14. Aquatic Insects useful in Monitoring Water Pollution | 2 | 36 |
15. Crop Breeding | 2 | 36 |
16. Diagnosis of Plant Diseases | 2 | 36 |
17. Ecology and Forecasting of Insects | 2 | 36 |
18. Entomology of Economic Crops | 2 | 36 |
19. Epidemics and Forecasting of Plant Diseases | 2 | 36 |
20. Identification of Agricultural Insects | 2 | 36 |
21. Insect Internal Organs and Their Function | 2 | 36 |
22. Integrated Management of Plant Diseases | 2 | 36 |
23. Machinery for Plant Protection | 2 | 36 |
24. Pathology of Economic Crops | 2 | 36 |
25. Pesticide Quality Test | 2 | 36 |
26. Plant Quarantine | 2 | 36 |
27. Post Harvest Diseases | 2 | 36 |
28. Professional English | 2 | 36 |
29. Protection of Agricultural Environment | 2 | 36 |
30. Research Techniques in Entomology | 2 | 36 |
31. Research Techniques in Pesticide Science | 2 | 36 |
32. Research Techniques in Plant Pathology | 2 | 36 |
33. Resource Entomology | 2 | 36 |
34. Resource Mycology | 2 | 36 |
35. Storage Insects | 2 | 36 |
36. Weed Control | 2 | 36 |
37. Weed Science | 2 | 36 |
38. Laboratory Techniques in Plant Pathology | 2 | 45 |
Total | 74 | 1298 |
Table 9. Centralized Practice involved in curriculum for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection since 1998 in Nanjing Agricultural University, China.*
Practice | Credits | Academic hours |
---|---|---|
Field Labour Work | 1 | 2 weeks |
Social Practice | 1 | 2 weeks |
Literature Search and Review Writing | 2 | |
Practice teaching | 2 | 4 weeks |
Field Practice | 2 | 4~6 weeks |
Practice of Scientific Research, and Writing and Defense of Dissertation | 8 | 13~17 weeks |
* Experimental classes are not included in this Table.
THE LINKAGE OF CURRICULUM WITH PRACTICE
Practical work is very important for students to learn and to master knowledge, particularly for students of Plant Protection. As mentioned above, the current curriculum for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection in NAU emphasizes the importance of practice and the ratio of practice in the curriculum has been greatly enhanced as compared to previous curriculum. The practice consists of two parts: (1) experimental class appended to some courses and (2) centralized practical work within a certain period of time. All required specialized courses and some of the selective courses now have experimental classes. The centralized practical work include Field Practice, Practice of Scientific Research, etc. Students are trained in various kinds of skills by way of different practices. Through Field Labour Work, students learn the basic skills and procedures of crop cultivation. Through Social Practice, students learn the status of agriculture in China. Through Field Practice, students are trained to recognize and to survey the important crop pests and weeds. Through practice related to compulsory specialized courses, such as Fundamental Plant Pathology and Fundamental Entomology, students learn the basic techniques of Plant Pathology and Entomology. Through practice of Literature Searching, students learn how to search useful special subjects and related references and how to organize the information and write a good review. Through practice of Scientific Research, students learn how to start research work, how to design an experiment, and how to solve the problem(s) they encounter. During the research, they also learn how to analyze the data and how to write a dissertation for defense of the Bachelor degree and a paper for publication. It is believed that students who go through step by step all these different kinds of practices will master most of the basic skills and techniques necessary for pest management before they graduate.
OTHER AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITIES OF SOUTHERN CHINA
There are more than 35 agricultural universities or colleges in China. Anhui Agricultural University (AAU), Huanan Agricultural University (HNAU), Jiangxi Agricultural University (JAU), Agricultural Colleges of Yangzhou University (YUAC) and Zhejiang University Agricultural College (ZUAC) are some examples in southern China. The curricula for undergraduate programme of Pest Management (Plant Protection) in these institutions are very similar, except for minor variation in the selective courses due to geographic differences. The common basic courses and specialized courses are also almost the same among the universities (Table 10). However, only a few selective courses are offered by all these institutions, while most selective courses are offered by only some of the institutions.
Table 10. Selective courses for undergraduate programme of Plant Protection offered in agricultural universities or colleges of southern China, China.
Courses | Agricultural universities or colleges of | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yangzhou | Anhui | Jiangxi | Zhejiang | Huanan | |
Agricultural Ecology | |||||
Application of Fungal Resources | |||||
Apiculture | |||||
Biological Control and Biopesticides | |||||
Control of Urban Harmful Organisms | |||||
Biological Control of Insects | |||||
Biological Control of Plant Diseases | |||||
Breeding for Plant Resistance to Insects | |||||
Control of Fruit Diseases | |||||
Control of Fruit Insects | |||||
Control of Herbal Plant Insects | |||||
Control of Vegetable Diseases | |||||
Control of Vegetable Insects | |||||
Crop Breeding | |||||
Cultivation of Fruit Trees | |||||
Cultivation of Vegetables | |||||
Diagnosis of Plant Diseases | |||||
Ecology of Insects | |||||
Entomology of Fruits, Vegetables, Tea and Mulberry | |||||
Epidemiology of Plant Diseases | |||||
Forecasting of Insects | |||||
Insect Identification Techniques | |||||
Insects in Cities | |||||
Insects in Storehouse | |||||
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) | |||||
Machinery of Agricultural Production or Plant Protection | |||||
Rats and their Control | * | ||||
Natural Enemies of Insects and their Application | |||||
Pathogens of Insects and their Application | |||||
Pathology of Fruits, Vegetables, Tea and Mulberry | |||||
Pest Control in Gardens | |||||
Pest Control of Horticultural Crops | |||||
Pesticide Analysis | |||||
Pesticide Chemistry | |||||
Plant Bacteriology | |||||
Plant Immunology | |||||
Plant Nematode | |||||
Plant Nutrition | |||||
Plant Quarantine | |||||
Plant Virology | |||||
Post Harvest Pathology | |||||
Principles of Plant resistance to Insects | |||||
Processing and Application Techniques of Pesticides | |||||
Processing for storage of Fruits | |||||
Professional English | |||||
Quality Examination of Pesticides | |||||
Research Methods of Insects | |||||
Research Methods of Pesticides | |||||
Research Methods of Plant Protection (by Fungicides) | |||||
Research Methods of Plant Diseases | |||||
Residues of Pesticides and Environment Protection | |||||
Resources of Insects | |||||
Science of Soil and Fertilizer | |||||
Scientific Literature Search | |||||
Agriculture Acarology | |||||
Sustainable Agriculture (Lecture) | |||||
Taxonomy of Insects | |||||
Taxonomy of Fungi | |||||
Tests and Application Techniques of Pesticides | |||||
Tillage | |||||
Toxicology of Pesticides | |||||
Toxicology of Insects | |||||
Weeds and their Control | * | ||||
Principles of Weed Killer |
Most agricultural universities or colleges offer similar items of practice which vary only slightly in time of duration (Table 11). The most important practice, the Practice of Scientific Research that usually lasts from 17 to 20 weeks, is conducted in the crop-growing season in most institutions. Before the research undertaking, some institutions offer special training to guide students on how to obtain the relevant information relating to the subject for study. Students are required to organise the information they get and write a review concerning the research background of the specified subject.
Table 11. Comparison among the practical work programmes in different agricultural institutions in southern China.
Practice | Agricultural universities or colleges of | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yangzhou | Anhui | Zhejiang | Huanan | |||||
A | B | A | B | A | B | A | B | |
Field Labour Work | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Social Practice | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Special Training | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Practice related to Specialized | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
Courses | ||||||||
Field Practice | 17 | 17 | 10 | 10 | - | - | 6 | 6 |
Practice of Scientific Research, and Writing and Defense of Dissertation | 10 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 6 | 8 | ||
Total | 23 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 15 | 31 | 21 | 31 |
A: Credits,
B: Time duration (weeks)
PROSPECTS
Agriculture is the biggest and basic industry in China. About two thirds of the population are farmers and are living in the countryside. With continuous negotiation by the Chinese government with governments of various member countries of World Trade Organization (WTO), it is expected that China will become a member of WTO before long. Once China becomes a member of WTO, it will gain a better opportunity to develop its economy while at the same time it will also encounter many challenges relating to globalization. The agricultural industry is expected to be one of the first to be affected. As a training institute in agricultural sciences, NAU, while proud of its past years of achievements, recognizes the need to look towards the future to provide China with the necessary agricultural manpower. The needed manpower must not only be qualified, but also have the needed skills and have mastered the more advanced technologies to meet the needs of China's economic development.
Dean, College of Plant Protection,
China Agricultural University,
Beijing 100094, China
ABSTRACT
In 1995, the Beijing Agricultural Engineering University and Beijing Agricultural University were merged to form the national China Agricultural University (CAU). Traditionally, CAU offered a four-year Bachelor degree in Plant Protection.
The undergraduate education in Plant Protection can be divided into four stages; 1949-1965 when students were mostly enrolled in Plant Pathology or Entomology and the curriculum designed according to the demands for teaching and research, 1966-1976 when education did not play the role it should do, 1977-1999 where the focus was to develop qualified professionals for the universities/research institutions and the curricula planned on the basis to produce research-type professionals, and from 1980 onwards when there were numerous plant protection professionals with many narrow fields of specialization (particularly in the 1990s). Because such an educational system was unable to meet the needs of the society, the curriculum was further revised. Nowadays, the objectives of undergraduate education in Plant Protection include providing the students with a sound knowledge in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and a broad-based education in a number of basic subjects. The undergraduates enroll to become specialists in Plant Protection instead of Plant Pathology or Entomology. Students may also freely take the elective courses.
Currently, undergraduate students are expected to undertake a broad-based education in Plant Protection. Perhaps in the future, even Master or Ph. D degree students will likewise need to be broad-based (studying Plant Protection) instead of continuing with the narrower fields of Plant Pathology or Entomology. By then, undergraduate students may be required to do Plant Production instead.
INTRODUCTION
China is an agricultural developing country. The development of agricultural production and agricultural modernization needs large numbers of qualified personnel. Higher education undertakes great missions in the development of the society, agriculture, and rural economy. The increasing population and decreasing land resources are the two main problems confronting the agriculture and rural economy of China. The solution to these problems depends ultimately on the advancement of science and technology and the enhancement of human resource.
Extension Service for Agricultural Techniques in villages and towns are the basic units of agricultural services. However, the number and the quality of the extension personnel cannot meet the need. Developing enterprises in villages and towns is the only way to help flourish the rural economy, increase farmers' income, and promote modernization of agriculture and development of the national economy. Whether it is developing village and town enterprises or the development of small towns, there are needs for a large pool of various professional and management personnel.
The 21st century is often referred as the biotechnology century. Agricultural universities therefore need to develop new subjects and modify existing traditional disciplines in order to meet the challenges of new technologies. The strategic reformation of agricultural economy in China should be market oriented, optimizing resources, developing sound regulatory measures and improving efficiency towards achieving high yield and high quality products. On a broad front, the higher education must be geared towards the needs of the whole rural economy and societal development rather than agricultural production only. Agricultural universities must regulate the numerous fields of narrow specializations. Students should be equipped with knowledge extending from pre-planting to post-harvest, with particular emphasis on the growing season of a crop. The traditional disciplines must be guided by the concept of market economics. Students not only need to learn techniques relating to their specific disciplines but also have a general knowledge in liberal arts, science, engineering, economics and administration. Since traditional disciplines are the strength and form the characteristics of agricultural universities, besides being the focal point from which new subjects are developed, they therefore should as far as possible be retained.
For undergraduate students, they should be exposed to new techniques and a broad-based education, covering a wide range of subject areas. This is crucial since scientific development and technologies are progressing rapidly and the social demand is for students to be knowledgeable in many diverse aspects. They are expected to be more adaptable to a wide range of disciplines than graduate students who should be more specialized in order to perform research, teaching and production activities. Some of the important broad-based educational subjects to be included are mathematics, physics, chemistry, foreign language, computer, management, humanities and an introduction to agriculture. Practical work should also form an important aspect of the training curriculum. New teaching methods are encouraged to ensure that students will continuously gain more knowledge.
The China Agricultural University (CAU) is a national university where Plant Protection is one of the offered traditional disciplines. The following is the development of Plant Pest Management Curriculum in CAU and some other universities in China.
HISTORY OF PLANT PEST MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM
An undergraduate student in Plant Protection requires four years for a Bachelor degree in China. The history of the curriculum can be traced back to 1949 when Beijing Agricultural University was founded (Beijing Agricultural University and Beijing Agricultural Engineering University were merged to become CAU in 1995). Broadely, the curriculum history of undergraduate education in plant protection can be divided into four stages.
The first stage was from 1949–1965. Students were enrolled in Plant Pathology or Entomology most of the time. The training was designed in accordance to the demands of the society, such as teaching, research, extension, and/or administration. During that time, the higher education met mostly the demands of the diverse institutions.
The second stage was from 1966–1976. It was a period that education did not fulfill its required role.
The third stage was from 1977–1999. During this period, especially in the early part, attention was given to meet the needs of universities and research institutes due to shortage of personnel. The curriculum was planned on the basis of producing research-type graduates, many of whom were trained and making great contributions to the society in the 1980s. Later in the 1990s, new and more specialized disciplines were developed. This resulted in numerous courses being offered, each having a very narrow field of specialization.
In the first half of 1990s, the course system was for specialization in Plant Pathology, Entomology, Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine. Basic courses involved a total of 2,095 hours and 88.5 credits. The basic courses included Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Foreign Language, Introduction to Law, Physical Education, Computer, Botany, Soil Science, Introduction to Crops, Introduction to Horticulture, Agricultural Economy and Administration, Statistics, General Genetics, Agricultural Machinery, Agricultural Meteorology, Plant Physiology, Plant Biochemistry, Agricultural Microbiology and Chemical Protection of Plants. For the specialized courses, students in Plant Pathology Specialty had 540 hours (24 credits) of obligatory courses that include General Plant Pathology, Agricultural Plant Pathology, Epidemiology and Forecast of Plant Diseases, Plant Etiology and Disease Diagnosis, Techniques in Diagnoses of Plant Diseases, General Entomology and Agricultural Entomology and 100 hours (5 credits) of elective courses that include Biological Control of Plant Diseases, Post Harvest Diseases, Plant Resistance and Techniques in Plant Pathology. The students in Entomology Specialty had 540 hours (24 credits) of obligatory courses that include General Entomology, Agricultural Entomology, Insect Taxonomy, Insect Ecology, Principles in Pest Control, General Plant Pathology and Agricultural Plant Pathology and 100 hours (5 credits) of elective courses that include Bee Keeping, Medical Insects, Urban Insects and Resources Insects. Students in Plant Protection Specialty had to have 550 hours (25 credits) of obligatory courses that include General Plant Pathology, Agricultural Plant Pathology, General Entomology, Agricultural Entomology, Forecast of Plant Diseases and Pests, Systematic Engineering in Plant Protection, Weed Control and Rodent Control and 100 hours (5 credits) of elective courses that include Disease Modeling by Computer, Plant Etiology and Disease Diagnosis, Insect Taxonomy and Introduction to Plant Quarantine and Regulation. The students in Plant Quarantine were required to have 560 hours (26 credits) of obligatory courses that include General Plant Pathology, Agricultural Plant Pathology, Quarantine of Plant Diseases, Seed Pathology, General Entomology, Agricultural Entomology, Quarantine of Pests and Introduction to Plant Quarantine and Regulation and 100 hours (5 credits) of elective courses that include Weed Control, Plant Etiology and Disease Diagnosis, Insect Taxonomy and Seminar on Plant Epidemics. All students could have 150 hours (7.5 credits) of free elective courses. A total of 32 credits of practical work were required for all students. These included general practical work at the beginning of the 3rd semester, field trials in 4th -5th semester, practicals within courses, practicals in General Plant Pathology and General Entomology, practicals in Agricultural Plant Pathology and Agricultural Entomology and Graduation Practicals. In total, at least 2,885 hours (157 credits) were required of students in Plant Pathology, 2,885 hours (157 credits) of students in Entomology, 2,895 hours (158 credits) of students in Plant Protection and 2,905 hours (159 credits) of students in Plant Quarantine.
In the second half of 1990s, there were more developments in the curriculum. The general and common courses for all students in Plant Protection included Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Foreign Language, Computer, Botany, Introduction to Crops, General Genetics, Plant Physiology, Plant Biochemistry, Agricultural Microbiology, General Plant Pathology, General Entomology, Agricultural Plant Pathology and Agricultural Entomology. These courses were required for further specialization in Plant Pathology, Entomology, Plant Protection, Plant Quarantine, Seed Processing, Rodent Control and Weed Control. The subjects Chemical Protection of Plants, Plant Etiology and Disease Diagnosis and Plant Resistance were offered for students in Plant Pathology while the subjects Chemical Protection of Plants, Insect Taxonomy, Techniques in Entomology, Insect Ecology and Forecasting and Insect Physiology for those students in Entomology. For students in Plant Protection, the following subjects were offered: Chemical Protection of Plants, Systematic Engineering of Plant Protection, Application of Computer in Plant Protection and Forecasting of Diseases and Pests. Students of Plant Quarantine will need to take the subjects Chemical Protection of Plants, Concept and Rules of Plant Quarantine, Quarantine of Plant Diseases and Quarantine of Pests while the students of Seed Processing and Health will have to study Seed Science, Seed Treatment and Processing, Seed Materia Medica, Seed Pathology and Storehouse Pests. The subjects Chemical Protection of Plants, Weed Control, Rodent Control and Bioassay of Herbicides are required for students studying Rodent and Weed Control. Students could choose freely the elective courses. Public Labours (conducted in the first two years) and Social Practice (conducted during vocations) were also included, unlike the curriculum in the first half of 1990s. In this curriculum students should take about 2,900 hours of courses, comprising 74% that are compulsory and 26% that are electives. Theory accounted for 72% while laboratory work 28% of the required courses. There were 32.5 weeks of practical work.
Currently, the curriculum development is in the fourth stage. It has been revised in the specialized areas of Plant Protection to meet the needs of the society.
CURRICULUM REFORM
Curriculum is based on the required training plan. Therefore, the reformation of training objectives should start before that of curriculum. The objectives of undergraduate education in Plant Protection are to ensure that students have elementary knowledge and abilities in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with a broad-based understanding in the subjects of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Foreign Language, Computer, Liberal Arts, Science, Engineering, Economics and Administration. Such an integrated education would permit the development of students who can fit into related but diverse areas of activities. In total, the courses comprise 2,500 hours; the basic ones accounting about 32.8%, the professional (and basic) ones 25.4%, the professional ones 15.2% and the free electives 26.6%. Below is a summary of the reformation that have taken place.
Firstly, the required basic courses were strengthened. General Animal Science was added because pests, broadly defined, include diseases, harmful insects, weeds and rodents. In the old curriculum, there were only Botany and Agricultural Microbiology in the basic courses. These formed the bases for courses in Weeds and Diseases, respectively. Then, there was no General Animal Science to serve as the bases for Entomology and Rodents.
Secondly, key professional courses were replaced. For example, Ecological System of Cropland replaced Soil Science and Agricultural Meteorology while Agricultural Plant Pathology and Agricultural Entomology were replaced by IPM. The new course not only covered weed control and rodent control but also gave students a whole concept of IPM. Techniques in Plant Pathology and Techniques in Entomology were merged into Techniques in Plant Protection as a required course. The subject Chemical Protection of Plants was changed to Introduction to Pesticides as an elective course.
Thirdly, students could take elective courses freely not only in Plant Protection but also in any other area according to their future needs.
Fourthly, training in research capability was enhanced through practical work. Students can join the teachers' research programme one day per week to gain general knowledge in research work.
Finally, the time of graduate practical training was regulated to fit in between the 6th-7th semester (from May to September). Under the old curriculum, the practical training was in the last semester when students had to take a lot of time to find jobs. This interfered with the practical training programme and affected its quality.
Under the new curriculum, the required basic courses include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Foreign Language, Computer and Philosophy. The required professional basic courses are Botany, Introduction to Crops, General Genetics, Plant Physiology, Plant Biochemistry, Agricultural Microbiology, Introduction to Agricultural Resources and Environment, Statistics, Ecological System of Cropland, General Animal Science, Agricultural Economy and Management and Writing Techniques. The required professional courses are General Plant Pathology, General Entomology, IPM and Techniques of Plant Protection. Electives of the professional courses are Insect Ecology, Insect Taxonomy, Insect Physiology, Insect Toxicology, Mites, Biological Control of Pests, Urban Insects, Medical Insects, Resource Insects, Seed Pathology, Plant Resistance, Biological Control of Plant Diseases, Post-harvest Diseases, Epidemiology of Plant Diseases, Systematic Engineering of Plant Protection, Forecasting of Plant Diseases and Pests, Application of Computer in Plant Protection, Plant Quarantine, Professional English, Weed Control, Rodent Control, Introduction to Pesticides and Advances in Plant Protection. The practicals involve Public Labour, Social Practice, Practice in General Agriculture, Practice of Botany, Field Trials, Practicals of General Plant Pathology and General Entomology, Practical IPM, Training of Research Ability and Graduation Practice.
LINKING CURRICULUM WITH PRACTICE
The basic courses are conducted during the 1st-4th terms. Students learn Public Labour (total 1 week) to gain willpower. For Social Practice (2 weeks), they can leave the campus to learn about the society. Practical work in Botany (1 week) is done in the second semester (just after the course) while that in General Agriculture (2 weeks) is conducted in experimental stations in the first two weeks of the 3rd term to expose students to agriculture.
The professional courses are done in the 5th and 6th semesters. Field trials consist of half day per week of 4th and 5th semesters, in which students can choose one crop to learn the whole process from sowing to harvesting. Practicals in General Plant Pathology and General Entomology last 2.5 weeks in the end of the 5th term (just after the courses). Training to improve research capability consists of half-day per week during the 5th term.
Students can take elective courses in the 6th, 7th, and 8th semesters. The practical for IPM is conducted during vocation between the 6th and 7th semesters (just after the course). Students spend 5 weeks visiting farms and greenhouses to learn techniques in plant protection. The Graduation Practice is from May to September in the summer vocation between the 6th and 7th semesters and also overflows partly into the 6th and 7th semesters. Both the practical for IPM and the Graduation Practice overlap with each other.
EXAMPLES IN OTHER AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITIES
OF CHINA
1. Shenyang Agricultural University
Shenyang is located in Liaoning Province, northeast of China. It is a national university under the charge of the Ministry of Agriculture. The curriculum for undergraduate students is designed on the basis of Plant Protection Specialty.
The non-elective courses are divided into common courses, basic courses, professional basic courses, and professional courses. Common courses constitute 720 hours, including Philosophy, Political Economics, Law Basis, Thought and Self-Cultivation, Situation and Policy, Foreign Language, Sports and Computer. The basic courses have a total of 540 hours, including Mathematics, Chemistry, Basic Biochemistry and Botany. Professional basic courses include Plant Physiology, Statistics, General Entomology, General Plant Pathology and Genetic Breeding of Plants, all of which add up to 410 hours. Agricultural Entomology, Agricultural Plant Pathology and Chemical Protection of Plants make up the professional courses that add up to 240 hours. In total, the required courses need 1,910 hours.
Elective courses are divided into ‘direction elective courses’ and those that are ‘free elective courses’. In the case of students pursuing Plant Pathology, the ‘direction elective courses’ include Epidemiology and Forecast of Plant Diseases, Plant Immunology, Methods in Phytopathological Research and Practical Techniques in Plant Pathology. For those doing Entomology, the courses are Pest Ecology and Forecast, Biological Control of Pests, Methods in Entomological Research and Field Techniques of Pests. For students involved with pesticides, the courses are Weed Science, Pesticide Toxicology, Methods in Pesticide Research and Operation Techniques of Pesticides. The ‘free elective courses’ include Agricultural Meteorology, Crop Cultivation, Instrument Analyses, Computer Application, Ecological Basis, Vegetable Cultivation, Cultivation of Fruit Trees, Plant Quarantine, Soil Fertilizers, Agricultural Machinery, Literature Searching, Plant Virology, Plant Bacteriology, Plant Nematology, Fungal Taxonomy, Biological Control of Plant Diseases, Diseases of Ornamental Plants, Molecular Plant Pathology, Professional English in Plant Pathology, Larvae Taxonomy, Agricultural Mites, Insect Pathology, Insect Physiology, Urban Insects, Resource Insects, Insect Taxonomy, Professional English in Entomology, Rodent and Control on Farmland, Pesticide Assays, Biological Pesticides, Regulators for Plant Growth, Tests and Management of Pesticide Resistance and Professional English in Pesticides. Students must choose one stream (e.g. Plant Pathology or others) and take at least 14 credits of ‘direction elective courses’ and 10 credits of ‘freely elective ones’.
2. Northwest Agricultural University
This university is located at Yangling town, Shaanxin Province, northwest of China, and is also a national university under the Ministry of Agriculture. The curriculum for undergraduate students is designed on the basis of Plant Protection Specialty.
The required courses include common courses, basic courses, professional basic courses, and professional courses, adding up to a total of 2,275 hours. The common courses cover Philosophy, Political Economics, Basic Law, Thought and Self-Cultivation, Foreign Language, Computer and Sports. The basic courses include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Plant Biochemistry, Plant Physiology, Agricultural Meteorology, Microbiology and Agricultural Environment. Professional basic courses are composed of General Plant Pathology, General Entomology, Genetics, Crop Science, Insect Ecology and Forecast, Ecology and Forecast of Plant Pathology and Statistics. Agricultural Entomology, Agricultural Plant Pathology and Chemical Protection of Plants make up the professional courses.
Elective courses are divided into ‘professional basis’ and ‘special directions’. Students should take at least 12 credits from Professional English, Introduction to Horticulture, Soil Fertilizers, Weed Science, Literature Searching, Agricultural Economics, Resource Insects and Insect Physiology. The students also need to choose one or more ‘special direction’ courses with at least 5.5 credits. The elective courses for Plant Pathology specialization include Plant Bacteriology, Plant Virology and Plant Immunology; those for Entomology specialization are Invertebrates, Rodents and Biological Control of Insects; those for Pesticide specialization are Pesticide Bioassays, Pesticide Toxicology and Pesticide Analysis; and those for Plant Quarantine specialization are Insect Taxonomy, Taxonomy of Plant Pathogens and Plant Quarantine.
PROSPECTS
Undergraduate education of plant protection in China is confronted with the challenges from new technologies, the reformation of centrally-planned economic system to that of market-oriented, the extent of plant protection requirement from preplanting to post-harvest, and the need for sustainable agriculture development. With greater demands for better services and produce by the society, the need for quality personnel to meet these demands is constantly increasing. Students are faced with two options after graduation; one is to find jobs directly and another is to continue their studies for Master Degree, or subsequently Ph. D Degree. Those of the first option have diverse choices of demands from different kinds of institutions, such as teaching, research, production, extension, business, administration, etc. Those of the second option will need to study hard in some specialized aspects. Therefore, the undergraduate education is a big platform for specialty development. It must provide the environment for developing a broad range of specialists with strong foundation, of good quality and capability, and possessing innovative minds and spirit which can blaze new trails.
Currently, the undergraduate students in Plant Protection are enrolled to specialize in Plant Protection while the graduate students (Masters and Doctorates) are to specialize in Plant Pathology or Entomology. Undergraduate students are expected to have general and broad training while graduate students to become specialists. In the future, perhaps the quality of undergraduate and graduate students will need to be improved further. Graduate students may need to have a general and broad training instead, in which case Master Degree students (or even Doctorates) will be enrolled in Plant Protection instead of Plant Pathology or Entomology. The undergraduate students may then need to register for Plant Production. In general, undergraduate students, Master and Doctorate students make up a pyramid, with the width of the base representing the level of knowledge and capability. The wider the base, the better the knowledge and capability. The new width is expected to produce a new and greater height, and the new height needs an even wider width, and so on and so forth.