Horticultural C (Plant Health) Online Course
| Full Fee | $595.00 incl GST - Best Value! |
| Payment Plan | $800.00 incl GST |
Exam Optional
Qualification Certificate
Tutor Support Yes unlimited by email
This advanced course specialises in care of plant health. Understand plant health. Identify health problems in plants and techniques to control for those problems. A useful qualification for anyone wanting to work in the plant industry. Learn from highly qualified and experienced tutors.
Course Aims:
- Identify the characteristics of pests and diseases of plants.
- Explain methods for the control of pests and diseases.
- Describe the characteristics of a range of different pesticides, including insecticides and fungicides.
- Explain the selection and use of spray equipment appropriate for different specified tasks.
- Describe aspects of the biology of an insect which are relevant to pest control.
- Describe aspects of the biology of an fungus which are relevant to disease control.
- Explain how inappropriate environmental conditions can affect plant health.
- Identify the characteristic signs of a range of non-insect pests,and select appropriate control methods.
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Detailed Course Outline
This course is made up of a number of lessons or units. Each of these has self assessment questions, a set task (practical homework) and an assignment which you can upload online. Click below to read about each of the lessons and what you will learn.
There are 10 Lessons in this course:
Introduction
- Pests
- Diseases
- Common terminology
- Diagnosing problems systematically
- Tell tale symptoms
- Conducting an inspection: four steps
- Pest or disease reviews
Overview of Preventative Controls
- Introduction
- Methods of pest management
- Integrated pest management
- Cultural control
- Using disease resistant varieties
- Crop rotation
- Timed planting
- Mulching
- Cleanliness
- Biological control
- Types of biological controls
- Beneficial plants
- Trap or decoy plants
- Pheromone traps
- Physical controls
- Traps
- Repellents
- Mulching
- Pruning
- Wounds
- Chemical controls
- Understanding pesticides
- Safely storing chemicals
- Safely mixing chemicals
- Legalities
- Plant breeding for resistance
- Sources and causes of resistance
- Adaptability, resistance and pest variability
Insecticides
- Types of insecticides: systemic, stomach poisons, contact poisons, etc
- In-organics, botanicals, organophosphates, carbamates, synthetic pyrethroids
- Characteristics of insecticides: toxicity, spectrum, LD50, persistence, volatility, etc.
- Golden rules for handling pesticides
- Terminology
Other Pesticides
- Chemical Pesticides: introduction
- Review of common pesticides
- Soil treatment for control of diseases
- Soil pests
- Types of fumigants
- Systemic fungicides
- Comparative toxicities
Spray Equipment
- Types of sprayers
- Uses of sprayers
- Spray terminology
- Sprayer maintenance and cleaning
- Selecting a sprayer
- Calibration
- Using chemicals: agitation, clean up and disposal
- Basic first aid with chemical pesticides
- Response to liquid or powder spills
- Keeping records
- Misters, Dusters, Blowers
- Pesticides and the environment
Insect Biology
- Insect classification: orders, sub classes
- Insect anatomy: mouthparts, legs, etc
- Lifecycle
- Feeding habits
- Practical project: Insect collecting, preserving, identifying, for an insect collection
- Common insects that a gardener encounters
- Ants
- Aphis
- Beetles
- Borers
- Bugs
- Caterpillars
- Cockroaches
- Crickets
- Earwigs
- Fleas
- Flies
- Galls (caused by insects)
- Grasshoppers
- Ladybirds (good and bad)
- Leaf hoppers
- Leaf miners
- Lerps
- Mealy bug
- Mosquitos
- Scale insects
- Termites
- Thrips
- Wasps
- Whitefly
Fungal Biology
- What causes disease
- Symptoms of disease
- Lifecycle of a disease: inoculation, penetration, infection, growth and reproduction, dissemination
- Fungi groups: obligate saprophytes, obligate parasites, facultative saprophytes, facultative parasites
- Expanded concept of tree decay
- Chemical pesticides in the UK and Europe
- Common diseases
- Anthracnose
- Bitter pit
- Blights
- Botrytis
- Canker
- Cinnamon fungus
- Club root
- Damping off
- Galls
- Gummosis
- Leaf curl
- Leaf spot
- Melanose
- Mildews
- Rots
- Rust
- Scab
- Silver leaf
- Spot
- Smut
- Sooty mould
- Wilts
Environmental Problems
- Common environmental problems
- Foliage burns
- Pollution
- Lack of water
- Drainage problems
- Frost
- Hail
- Shade
- Temperature
- Wind
- Symptoms of nutritional deficiencies
- Air pollution
- The plant and water
- Non parasitic problems in turf (lawns)
- Ways to provide environmental protection to plants
Viruses
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Detection and diagnosis of viruses
- Control
- Examples of virus diseases
Nematodes, Mollusks, and Crustaceans
- Overview
- Millipedes
- Plant nematodes
- Nematodes in citrus
- Red spider mites
- Spiders
- Slaters or wood lice
- Snails and slugs
When you have completed the lessons of your Certificate course, you will be given the option of taking the optional exam. It's okay if you don't want the exam, we still issue your Careerline Certificate. For Advanced Certificates however, the exam is compulsory (per module) and are included in the course fee.
Course Tutor(s)
Barbara Tremain BSc. (Hons) Horticulture, RHS Adv. Cert,. RHS General, City & Guilds Garden Design, Permaculture Level 3 (UK)
Barbara brings to Careerline a wide range of horticultural experience and knowledge Barbara has a keen interest in herbalism, edible wild plants and has lead into studies of many plant based complementary medicinal systems, qualification as a Bach Flower remedy practitioner and studying Ethnobotany. Barbara has practiced and studied horticulture as well as combining it with her love of travel in many countries including the UK, US and Australia and has also studied Permaculture and runs her own horticulture business. Within the past two years she have also worked for Groundwork SW with 18-24 year old unemployed people, this work and the mentoring scheme has allowed me to teach informally. It has been a delight to nurture the interests of keen learners in horticulture and garden design. Meanwhile the business has covered a variety of Garden Design projects, from wildflower gardens to seaside situations, and has included some work with Chelsea Gold multi-winner John Moreland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay in installments?
Yes! We offer great payment plans, however full payment up front is the cheapest. You can choose the best payment plan for you from the course page, or call us on 07 55368782 to talk to one of our course consultants for a custom plan.
Can I study from anywhere in the world?
We have many international students. Careerline's range of courses are suitable for any one, anywhere in the world.
Do I get a discount if I enroll in a second course?
Yes. You may claim a 5% fee discount when you enroll in a second course, and a further 10% off a three-course package.
Do I have to sit an Exam?
No. If you are enrolled in a Certificate course (100hrs), the exam is optional. You will be issued with a certificate which proves that you are competent in all units, if you choose not to sit the exam.
Do you have set start dates?
There are no set start dates, you may start at any time. Our courses are all self-paced. As our home page says, ‘Courses for Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime’. ‘Anytime’ includes the start time of your choice. However, we do encourage our students to submit assignments on a regular basis. Wherever possible, we suggest developing a study routine.