Learning objectives

The course is aimed to define the meaning of sustainability concerning agricultural plant production stating from the analysis of the problems that the modern agriculture has to effort. The course will deal with subject matters regarding to: a) agrochemicals, in particular herbicides, describing their mode of action and their fate in the agroecosystem; b) nutrient use efficiency and plant metabolic responses to deficiency/toxicity of nutrients; c) plant adaptation to adverse chemical soil conditions as acidity, presence of Ca and Na carbonate, salinity and submerged conditions; d) plant biofortification for food and feed production. These contents will be developed and discussed considering the biotechnological approaches aimed to identify sustainable solutions.