# HORT40120

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Academic Year 2025/2026

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#### Food Production: Protected Crops (HORT40120)

Subject:
:   Horticulture

College:
:   Health & Agricultural Sciences

School:
:   Agriculture & Food Science

Level:
:   4 (Masters)

Credits:
:   5

Module Coordinator:
:   Dr Tony Twamley

Trimester:
:   Autumn

Mode of Delivery:
:   On Campus

Internship Module:
:   No

How will I be graded?
:   Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module explores the scientific and technological basis of protected food crop production. Factors involved in the production of the principal protected food crops are studied (mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, and culinary herbs). Emphasis is given to the sustainable production of quality produce. There is particular emphasis given to the application of recent technology and research findings. Issues of global food supply (protected crops) and ethical trading will be raised in the context of sustainable enterprises. Students will be taken on two industry site visits and will be required to produce individual reports detailing their observations and provide a critique of the business. Students will be required to identify any deficiencies or best practice observed and to make recommendations/suggestions as to how the enterprise could be improved. Students will research specific topics which may include their evaluation and proposals from the industry visits or the development of a policy document on, or strategies for, the use of advanced technologies. Each student will be required to prepare a PowerPoint presentation of their assigned work and to deliver this in class and defend it under questioning from students and staff alike. A written report will be required and should be submitted on the presentation day. There will be two continuous assessments, one in week five and the second in week 10, and a final examination.

## About this Module

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### What will I learn?

###### Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to;\
1 Describe the principles and methods of production for the major protected food crops; the supply and retailing of fresh and value protected produce.\
2 Critically review and evaluate data from scientific, technical, industry and marketing sources on the key influences; primary crop requirements, food safety, quality assurance, environmental impact, sustainability, market demands/consumer trends, demographic changes and globalisation impacting the production and supply of protected produce.\
3 Describe the principles of sustainable production of protected crops. \

###### Indicative Module Content:

This module explores the scientific and technological basis of protected food crop production. Factors involved in the production of the principle protected food crops are studied (e.g. Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Lettuce). Emphasis is given to the sustainable production of quality produce. National and international production, distribution, retailing and consumption patterns are reviewed for selected crops. Industry Codes of Practice and Quality Assurance & Food Safety programmes (including national and international quality standards, such as GLOBALGAP, certification and accreditation systems to ISO17065) will be examined.

### How will I learn?

###### Student Effort Hours:

| Student Effort Type | Hours |
| --- | --- |
| Specified Learning Activities | 23 |
| Autonomous Student Learning | 62 |
| Lectures | 24 |
| Conversation Class | 2 |
| Field Trip/External Visits | 14 |
|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Total | 125 |

\

###### Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

The teaching and learning approaches used in this module include: active/task-based learning; assignment work; lectures; critical writing; reflective learning; industry site visits; student presentations\
\
The responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Grammarly, translation tools) is permitted in this module only where explicitly stated in the assessment instructions. \
Any use of AI must be:\
- Acknowledged clearly in the assignment.\
- Verified by the student for accuracy, with supporting references that include DOIs where available.\
- Critically engaged with, not simply reproduced.\
\
Students must be able to demonstrate that they fully understand and stand over the content of their submissions. The use of AI does not remove the student’s responsibility for the integrity, originality, and scholarly quality of their work.\
\
The Module Coordinator reserves the right to interview students about their submitted work to verify authorship and ensure academic integrity. Unauthorised or unacknowledged use of AI tools may be treated as academic misconduct under UCD’s Academic Integrity Policy.

### Am I eligible to take this module?

###### Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

**Learning Recommendations:**\

Level 1 or Level 2 Biology or Chemistry Module

\

###### Module Requisites and Incompatibles

**Equivalents:**\
Food Production:ProCrops (HORT30250)\
\
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 \

### How will I be assessed?

###### Assessment Strategy

| Description | Timing | Component Scale | Must Pass Component | % of Final Grade | In Module Component Repeat Offered |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Exam (Open Book): Students will complete an in-class open-book exam covering module content. Further details and format will be outlined in class. | Week 5 | Standard conversion grade scale 40% | No | 15 | No |
| Exam (In-person): One hour end of trimester exam | End of trimester  Duration:  1 hr(s) | Standard conversion grade scale 40% | No | 50 | No |
| Exam (In-person): Multiple-choice or short-answer questions | Week 10 | Standard conversion grade scale 40% | No | 15 | No |
| Report(s): Industry site visit report(s) | Week 11 | Standard conversion grade scale 40% | No | 20 | No |

\

###### Carry forward of passed components

Yes

\

### What happens if I fail?

| Remediation Type | Remediation Timing |
| --- | --- |
| In-Module Resit | Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board |

*Please see [Student Jargon Buster](https://www.ucd.ie/students/services/ucdstudentjargonbuster/) for more information about remediation types and timing.* \

### Assessment feedback

###### Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment\
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment\
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment\

###### How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

### Associated Staff

| Name | Role |
| --- | --- |
| Natalie Batsch | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
| Dr Syed Bilal Hussain | Tutor |

### When is this module offered?

**Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.**

|  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Autumn | Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 1, 4 | Tues 11:00 - 12:50 |
| Autumn | Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 | Tues 11:00 - 12:50 |
| Autumn | Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 7, 10 | Tues 11:00 - 12:50 |
| Autumn | Field Trip | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 5, 7 | Wed 14:00 - 16:50 |

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