An overview course designed to provide students with information, opportunities, and skills to ease their transition into college and build a successful foundation necessary to reach their educational goals.

Structure, function, and reproduction of plants; emphasis on the flowering plants.

The ways in which water, light, and temperature influence plants, and the ways in which plants respond to changes in the environment. Emphasis on physical nature of these environmental factors. Seven-week course. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102.

Applied introduction to plant pathology in horticultural crops. Identification, description, and management of diseases in modern horticultural production. Chemical, biological, cultural, and genetic controls and their integration. Seven-week course. Prerequisite: PLSOILIN 102.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the prevention or suppression of pests (insects, mites, diseases, weeds and algae) by use of multiple management strategies that are effective, economically feasible, and safe for growers, consumers, and the environment. Focus on IPM strategies used in commercial greenhouse crop production. Emphasis on major greenhouse pests, including identification, life cycles, monitoring and management strategies. Seven-week course.

ENGLWRIT 111 An entry-level course in writing designed for freshmen who, through their performance on the Placement Exam, demonstrate the need for intensive work in writing. 

ENGLWRIT 112 An entry-level course in writing. Emphasis upon the writing process: prewriting, revising, editing. Minimum of six finished essays required. Prerequisite: satisfactory performance on the Placement Exam or in ENGLWRIT 111 Basic Writing.

With lab. A field laboratory on the diagnosis and management of the health problems of woody plants. Students learn to recognize the major plant diseases of trees and shrubs using plant materials on campus. Disease management options presented on an individual basis in a clinical context. Prerequisite: STOCKSCH 111.

Topics include state and federal pesticide laws and regulations, pesticides and the environment, handling and storage of pesticides, classes and formulations of pesticides, safety and application equipment, understanding the pesticide label, toxicity, proper calculation and mixing of pesticides, and history of pesticide use. Includes preparation for the Massachusetts Pesticide Core Exam.