Agriculture

According to the curriculum, 270 student practice hours are scheduled for the specialization Agriculture during a bachelor study cycle, which are distributed as follows::

• 1 st year – 2 nd semester: 60 hours*
• 2 nd year – 1 st semester: 60 hours, 2 nd semester: 60 hours
• 3 rd year – 1 st semester: 60 hours, 2 nd semester: 60 hours
• 4 th year – 2 nd semester: 120 hours.

*30 hours are equivalent to one week of practice

The content of the subject Practice within the specialization Agriculture is constantly reviewed and improved, so as to meet fully the requirements of the specialization curriculum as well as the students’ needs to acquire specific knowledge and practical skills.

Activities are targeted to help students acquire the experience necessary to agronomy specialists. Thus, student practice hours are related to subjects in the field as provided by the curriculum for each year of study, being coordinated and guided by the teachers responsible for the overall organization of practical activities.

• acquiring knowledge of a farm in terms of organization, units and functioning;
• acquiring knowledge of activity areas (vegetal, animal husbandry) and work organization in order to gain an overall perspective of the functioning of an agricultural enterprise, so as to comprehend the relevance and role of each subject students would further study and to emphasize the importance of professional training.
• acquiring knowledge related to equipment used for agriculture, the main types of tractors employed and tractor driving;
• coupling farm aggregates depending on various crop plants and category of farm work;
• enhancing practical skills regarding land measurement under field conditions;
• assimilating techniques for conducting planimetric surveys;
• acquiring skills for handling and using specific equipment;
• gaining morphological knowledge of vegetal organisms: characteristics of crop plants;
• knowing and describing the main genera and species;
• knowing and describing plants of great importance for agriculture (crops and wild species - weeds);
• knowing how to harvest biological material, preparing for plant selection and storage.

In the second year of study, students conduct practice for Agrochemistry, Agrotechny, Soil Science and Plant Protection. The objectives of the practice are the following:

• acquiring knowledge of pedogenetic processes;
• acquiring knowledge of the development and evolution of soils;
• knowing soil properties for the purpose of making rational use of land and raising soil fertility potential;
• assessing the quality of soil tillage;
• describing, recognising and mapping weeds in agricultural crops;
• acquiring knowledge of agrotechnical and chemical methods of weed control;
• presenting phytopathogenic agents, pests and weeds in field crops;
• presenting phytosanitary control, forecast and monitoring chemical treatments against diseases, pests and weeds, as well as physical and chemical methods and work protection legislation;
• methods of determining the economic injury level (EIL);
• the agrochemical mapping of a given surface;
• orientation on the ground with a 1:10000 scale plan and a 1:5000 scale in the case of greenhouses;
• laying out field markings for experimental microplots;
• soil sampling using agrochemical probes;
• materializing agrochemical fertilizer plots on the field;
• chemical and organic fertilization;
• basic organic and chemical fertilization (NP, NPK, PK)
• additional (phasial) fertilization with nitrogen (ammonium nitrate, urea) or liquid fertilizer;
• methods of producing manure in cattle (with litter) - fermentation platform; pig slurry; anaerobically fermented sheep manure;
• working in the experimental fields of the disciplines within the Didactic Station;
• soil and plant sampling;
• manure application; observations on the plots;
• variants regarding plant growth and development;
• harvesting experiences.

In the third year, the practice corresponding to the disciplines Phytotechny and Grassland farming target the following objectives:

• sowing cereal crops and industrial crops
• autumn fertilization of cereals
• autumn weed control in cereals
• harvesting cereals and industrial plants
• presenting and acquiring knowledge of vegetable species for the conditions present in our country;
• acquiring knowledge of vegetable plant cropping systems in open field and protected areas;
• crop establishment through seeding and planting; vegetable plant seedling production;
• technologies for vegetable plant cropping according to species and crop system (open field, protected areas)
• acquiring knowledge on the main grassland species and assessing fodder plant production.

The third year student practice may also be conducted in the form of internships in companies (commercial units) partners of the Faculty of Agriculture with which agreements have been signed, as well as other economic institutions or enterprises related to agriculture. Students may choose among these in order to carry out the required practice.

Practice tutors are responsible for training and supervising students to ensure the appropriate development of activities conducted within the Faculty and the companies to which students have been assigned, according to the practice agreements which have been signed.

The practice stage ends with a colloquy, consisting of checking the documents prepared during the internship (certificate of practice, practice specifications) and presenting individual essays based on data collection and processing in the field.

Students are guided by the Faculty of Agriculture towards companies and other institutions where their internship practice will take place. During the fourth study year, under the guidance of coordinating teachers, students complete their specialty practice and the practice for drafting their Diploma project according to the drafting Guidelines. This activity is based on studies, research, experiments and results from previous years, when students had enrolled in scientific circles in various disciplines.