AGRI11001 - Soil and Irrigation Management

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit covers the fundamentals of soil and irrigation systems. You will learn how soil properties affect crop growth; how management strategies can be applied to manage variable soil conditions; how to interpret soil analytical data and how to develop soil improvement programs. The unit will show you how different growing conditions define management options and how a range of irrigation systems can be used to increase production.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Emerald
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 30%
2. Portfolio 30%
3. Written Assessment 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 15.15% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE
Feedback
Excellent teaching of the broad subject
Recommendation
It is recommended to continue aspects of teaching practice that met student expectations.
Action Taken
Several experienced guest speakers were invited to speak on select topics.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Soil and irrigation should be taught as different units.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the unit be reviewed in future to consider how these topics should be delivered.
Action Taken
No major changes were implemented in the unit in 2024. The suggestion to split soil and irrigation aspects into different units will be considered in the next 5-year review of the course.
Source: SUITE
Feedback
Assessment 3 required students to visit a farm or garden and collect data for an irrigation plan. It was noted that not all students know a landholder or have access to a farm or garden.
Recommendation
Working in conjunction with colleagues and partners (including landholders), the unit coordinator will help students access a farm to collect data for their assessment. The AGRI11001 UC will liaise with the AGRI11002 (Plant Science and Crop Production) UC to ensure that soil and irrigation aspects are discussed during the farm visits organised for AGRI11002 during the Residential School.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Self Reflection
Feedback
The Residential School for this unit involved field assessment of key soil characteristics as well as some laboratory measurements. Students visited only one site located within the ROK Campus. There is a need to visit other agricultural farms and/or obtain soil samples from additional sites for comparative analysis.
Recommendation
The AGRI11001 UC will liaise with the AGRI11002 (Plant Science and Crop Production) UC to ensure that soil and irrigation aspects are discussed during the farm visits organised for AGRI11002 during the Residential School. Soil samples from a typical agricultural farm will be obtained and used for comparative analysis.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Apply knowledge of soil testing results in order to describe different soil types
  2. Explain how soil properties determine production opportunities
  3. Develop, monitor and review soil amendment practices
  4. Determine the feasibility of using or upgrading irrigation systems
  5. Develop and evaluate an appropriate irrigation plan.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
2 - Portfolio • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
5 - Team Work • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10