Courses

For a full description of the courses listed below, including a syllabus, visit the UGA Bulletin. Note: The Bulletin lists all courses recently taught, some of which are only offered periodically, or based on need. The current list of active courses is arranged below by general topical areas within horticulture. These courses are active and offered on a regular basis.

HORT 4010/6010

Vegetable Crop Production
The commercial production of vegetables, including planning and management for sustainable and profitable vegetable enterprises, emphasizing research-based practices. Topics include traditional and alternative production systems, such as organics, hydroponics, no-till and plastic culture, and other current practices.

HORT 4030S/6030S

Sustainable Community Food Production
Different dimensions of urban food systems (fruits, vegetables, herbs) from a production perspective. Discussion will include food security, environmental considerations, health and social aspects, and economic implications. A review of current research, field trips to local urban farms, guest speakers and hands-on, service-learning activities working with local community garden projects.

HORT 4045/6045

Gardening for Teachers
Student teachers will develop technical skills and increase knowledge of garden use for education purposes.

HORT 4050/6050

Greenhouse Management
Principles and practices of the production of greenhouse pot plants, bedding plants, and cut flowers. Emphasis placed on production practices, environmental and operational management, and cost estimation.

HORT 4070/6070

Special Problems in Horticulture I
Research on special problems under direction of faculty.

HORT 4080/6080

Special Problems in Horticulture II
Advanced research on a problem of special interest under direction of faculty.

HORT 4090/6090

Sustainable Landscape Management and Design
The planting and care of plants in the landscape environment, with a focus on science-based practices that minimize the impart on the environment.

HORT 4091/6091

Professional Horticulture Practices
Overview of professional horticulture practices such as crop planning, bidding, contract supervision, budgeting and record-keeping.

HORT 4125/6125

Organic Agricultural Systems
Philosophy, policies, and practices related to organic agriculture, including the history and development of organic agriculture, current USDA National Organic Program standards, fundamental crop management techniques (horticultural focus), and the organic market. Practical experiences, such as growing crops and sampling methods, are integrated with lecture material.

HORT (CRSS)(PBGG) 4140/6140

Plant Breeding
Fundamental principles and theories utilized in the science of plant breeding and cultivar development and the role breeding plays in crop improvement.

HORT 4210/6210

Post Harvest Physiology
Examination of postharvest losses from farm to fork, physiology of ripening, postharvest physiology of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and application of technology to extend post harvest shelf life of produce. The course will have a lab component where students will gain hand-on experience with laboratory techniques related to physiology and technology.

HORT 4210/6210

Postharvest Biology of Horticultural and Agronomic Crops
Catabolic and anabolic metabolism, and anatomical and pathological responses of harvested fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cut flowers, and intact plants. Transportation, refrigeration, controlled atmospheric storage, drying, and packaging of harvested products.

HORT 4310/6310

Vineyard Production and Management
Focuses on the basic concepts of viticulture, concerning the productive commercial management practices required across a variety of grape production systems (juice, raisin, table, wine). Students will learn the basics of vine physiology, soil and water quality, plant health management, vineyard establishment practices, such as site selection and design, labor, and production economics, and be introduced to the methods used to assess fruit quality.

HORT(CRSS) 4430/6430 and 4430E/6430E

Plant Physiology
Designed to enhance students’ knowledge of the basic principles of plant physiology, including water relations, solute and phloem transport, photosynthesis and respiration, plant genomes, regulation of plant gene expression, phytohormone biology, and plant growth and development.

HORT(CRSS) 4440/6440-4440L/6440L

Environmental Physiology
Effects of environmental factors on growth and physiology of horticultural plants and modification of the plant's environment to improve crop production.

HORT(CRSS) 4590/6590

Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition
Soil conditions affecting availability of plant nutrients; methods of determining soil fertility and insufficiency of plant nutrients in soils, and interpretation of chemical and biological measurements as related to fertility maintenance and good soil management.

HORT 4630/6630E

Nursery Management
Locating, operating, and managing retail and wholesale nurseries.

HORT(ENTO) 4770E/6770E

Discover the Wonderful World of Plants and Pollinators and Your Place in It - Service Learning
Discussion of the impact of urban systems on pollinator health and the active role citizens can play in protecting pollinators. Students will receive training on plant and pollinator insect identification to better understand pollinator-plant interactions, the importance of reducing pesticide inputs, and creating a coexisting pollinator and plant habitat in the urban matrix.

HORT 4800

Agricultural Biotechnology
Structure/manipulation of DNA and inheritance of genes, the current impact of biotechnology on crop production and animal agriculture. Regulatory, intellectual property, environmental, and market issues specific to transgenic crops.

HORT 4920/6920

Organic Horticulture Entrepreneurship
Students will manage organic enterprises from planning to production to marketing. Students will work independently or in teams under guidance of the director and staff at UGArden. Weekly meetings will be held for lectures, training, and project updates. Students will gain real-world experience in organic production and business management.

HORT 4960R

Faculty-Mentored Undergraduate Research I
Faculty-supervised independent or collaborative inquiry into fundamental and applied problems within a discipline that requires students to gather, analyze, synthesize, and interpret data and to present results in writing and other relevant communication formats.

HORT 4990/6990

Current Issues in Horticulture
Current issues of concern to the horticulture industry, with a focus on the latest research and technological advances in horticulture. Topic vary each semester but are centered on sustainability and the role of horticulture in solving the problems of today while looking towards the future.

HORT 7000

Master's Research
Research while enrolled for a master's degree under the direction of faculty members.

HORT 7300

Master's Thesis
Thesis writing under the direction of the major professor.

HORT 8000

Horticultural Seminar
Papers on selected topics to be presented by advanced students, faculty members, and guest speakers.

HORT 8010

Analysis of Horticultural Science Literature
Students will analyze and critique primary and peer-reviewed horticultural science literature. Effective communication (i.e., substance and construction) of scholarly articles will be explored via instructor and student-led presentations, critiques, and group discussions. Students will simultaneously be exposed to current topics and expectations of different journals in the field.

HORT 8080

Horticulture Research
This course is designed for graduate students who wish to carry out advanced research not covered in their thesis topic under the supervision of a faculty member.

HORT 8104

Advanced Plant Physiology
Plant physiological processes that control how plants grow and respond to environmental cues. This course will look at how processes at the molecular, cellular, and leaf level interact to affect growth, with a focus on photosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism, and hormone physiology.

HORT 8110

The Scientific Method and Approach to Conducting Horticultural Research
An in-depth look at how research is approached, conducted, and carried out in traditional horticultural programs. Topics will include preparation, the hypothesis, reason, design, observation, and data interpretation.

HORT 8111

Design, Analysis, and Interpretation of Horticultural Data
Common designs used in horticultural research. Analyzing and interpreting data from laboratory, storage, greenhouse, and field experiments.

HORT 8140

Advanced Plant Breeding
An in-depth assessment of plant breeding methodologies and their genetic basis. Emphasis on the integration of traditional methodologies with modern genetic and genomic technologies.

HORT 8150

Plant Growth and Development
Plant growth and development emphasizing factors pertinent to economic plants. The physiological processes of growth, juvenility, maturity, leaf and shoot growth patterns, floral initiation and development, embryogenesis, fruitset, dormancy, and senescence. The effects of environment on plant growth and development.

HORT 8160

Measurement and Control in Plant and Soil Science
Measuring and controlling environmental parameters, with an emphasis on dataloggers and sensor theory. Measurement theory, common error sources, and appropriate use of equipment will be discussed. The theory behind measurements will be applied during the lab component.

HORT 8390

Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources
The importance of plant diversity and the ways it is conserved and utilized, including ex situ conservation, molecular tools, and the use of genetic resources in agriculture, conservation, and the pharmaceutical industry.

HORT 8860

Plant Breeding Genetics and Genomics Communication Seminar
Instruction and practice in oral scientific presentations as they relate to the field of plant breeding, genetics, or genomics, with emphasis on effective communications and presentation techniques for general audiences. A literature search and a formal seminar on the subject are required, along with analyses of other seminars presented.

HORT 8861

Plant Breeding Genetics and Genomics Research Seminar
Instruction and practice in presenting scientific findings as they relate to the field of plant breeding, genetics, or genomics, with emphasis on effective presentation and interpretation of data from a student's theses or dissertation research. A formal seminar on this is required, along with analyses of other seminars presented.

HORT 8870

Translational Genomics
Strategies and tools for the application of genomic information to the development of crops with improved traits.

HORT 8871

Genome Analysis and Comparative Genomics
The concepts behind genetic mapping, genome analyses and comparative genomics in plants that help students understand the relationships between genomes at the structural and functional level.

HORT 8872

QTL Mapping and Discovery
The principles and procedures underlying the establishment of marker-based linkage maps and their application in the establishment of marker-trait associations.

HORT 8873

Transgenic Breeding
How transgenic plants are created, the deployment of transgenes in a breeding program, and the various regulations that govern their use.

HORT 8900

Emerging Topics in Plant Breeding Genetics and Genomics
Emerging topics and methods in Plant Breeding, Genetics and genomics with an emphasis in the newest discoveries, as well as new approaches to genome analysis or new technological applications to plant breeding, and other timely topics.

HORT 9000

Doctoral Research
Research while enrolled for a doctoral degree under the direction of faculty members.

HORT 9300

Doctoral Dissertation
Dissertation writing under the direction of the major professor.