Institut für Agrartechnik in den Tropen und Subtropen ...

Water and Soil as Resources
Prof. Dr. K. Köller - Prof. Dr. K. Stahr - PD Dr. J. Müller
MASTER PROGRAMM
Multilateral conflicts of water access; competition for water (agriculture, industry, municipal
use); environmental, economic and social impacts. Soil functions and potentials, soil
classification, soils of rain forest ecosystems, soil fertility constraints in rain forest soils, soils
of the Savanna zone, problems of soil erosion, physical problems of Savanna soils. Soil
conservation methods, conservation tillage systems, zero-tillage systems. Utilisation
problems in arid lands, dessertification, salinisation. Pore system and water retention, water
potential concept; the basics of a soil water model; the Darcy Law; solute and water transport
in soils, basic principles of hydraulics, water lifting devices, water conveyance and
measurement. Irrigation scheduling; design and operation of irrigation systems; design and
maintenance of drainage systems; salinity control; field performance evaluation; sensor
controlled irrigation; surface and subsurface micro irrigation; evaporation reducing technique.
Water pricing, economy of water use, water rights and ownership, and water policy.
Advanced Crop Production Methods
Prof. Dr. D.E. Leihner - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. W. Mühlbauer - Prof. Dr. K. Köller –
Prof. Dr. A.E. Melchinger
Importance of cereals and root crops for human nutrition; potentials and constraints of
intensification in world food production, prerequisites of mechanisation, mechanisation
strategies. Genetic improvement: genetic and physiological principles, improvement of yield,
resistance, and quality; genome manipulation. Cultivation systems: land preparation (grading,
levelling, tillage), planting and seeding, crop rotation, mixed cropping. Plant-water relations:
plant metabolism and water; plant response to water stress; measurement of plant-water
status; plant growth and water consumption modelling; demonstration of the EPIC-model.
Soil fertility, degradation processes, and conservation systems: principles of soil fertility and
degradation, wind and water erosion. Specific crop production and protection technology:
tropical cereals, roots, and tubers, oil crops, grain legumes, sugar cane. Harvesting: rice,
cassava Post-harvest operations: rice drying methods, milling and parboiling; cassava
processing; starch production; storage systems.
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