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Course Synopses
SSR 212-4 Physical Geology and Geomorphology
Basic earth processes with emphasis on weathering processes and soil formation. Principles of physical geology and geomorphology with emphasis on
SSR 223-5 Fundamentals of Soil Science
The nature and classification of parent materials, their origin and distribution. Introduction to physical and biological properties of mineral and organic soils; chemical and mineralogical properties of soils: soil reaction, cation exchange capacity and mineral nutrition of plants; soil-water-plant relationships; soil ecology and environmental quality. Guidelines of soil survey and taxonomy.
Ssr 311-3 Introduction to Soil and Water Conservation
The concept of soil and water conservation, concept, definition and objectives of tillage for soil management and crop production. Soil erosion control measures and practices. Soil water balance. Principles and techniques of water harvesting and conservation.
SSR 312-3 Introduction to Land Management
Soil water management and drainage. Tillage systems, control and management of soil problems: acidity, alkalinity, salinity, sodicity, erosion, land degradation and ground water pollution. Principles and practices of agroforestry. Cropping systems and soil management.
SSR 313-3 Soil Chemistry
The concept and scope of soil chemistry. Nature of properties of soil solids. Ion exchange reactions. Soil reaction, soil organics, oxidation and reduction reaction. Salt affected soils. Soil chemistry and plant nutrition.
SSR 321-3 Soil Genesis, Morphology and Classification
Morphological and physical characteristics of soils. Factors and processes of soil formation. Soil classification systems with emphasis on soil taxonomy classification systems adopted in
SSR 322-3 Soil Physics
Physical concepts of soil. Soil matrix and primary particles. Soil water relations. Water movement and physical laws governing water availability in soils. Field water regimes. Gas and solute movement in soils. Thermal regimes of soils. Variations in physical properties.
SSR 323-4 Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition
Soil fertility: past and present. Concepts of essential nutrients, amendments and manures. Basic soil-nutrient-plant relationships. Nutrient transformation in soils. Physiological basis for plant nutrition. Soil fertility problems and the use of soil and plant analysis.
SSR 324-3 Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry
Soil as a habitat for microorganisms. Methods of studying soil organisms. Components of soil biota, their occurrence and distribution. Carbon cycling and soil organic matter. Dynamics of residue decomposition and soil organic matter turnover. Nitrogen transformation and transport dynamics. Soil microorganisms and nutrient cycles. Mycorrhizal associations.
SRR 325-3 Watershed Management
Precipitation and interception. Water loss from catchments. Water in soil. The water balance and runoff systems. Hill slope processes. Sediment production and transport.
SSR 326-3 Introduction to Forestry and Agroforestry
The concept of “
SSR 412-4 Soil Fertility Evaluation and Management
Principles of soil fertility management. Diagnosing fertility status of soils by soil analysis and plant deficiency symptoms. Liming and fertilization. Fertilizer technology. Cropping systems and soil fertility management. Fertilizers and efficient use of water. Economics of fertilizer use.
SSR 413-4 Soil Survey and Land Evaluation
Field practices in soil survey. Remote sensing applications in soil survey. Soil correlations and interpretation of soil survey results. Land system approach. Land evaluation. Land capability classification. Land suitability evaluation. Economics and social implications of land evaluation.
SSR 414-3 Soil and Water Management
Concepts of soil and water conservation and implications in sustainable production. Water requirement of field crops. Water conservation: principles and structures. Drainage and reclamation of flooded lands. Irrigation methods in relation to soil conditions.
SSR 422-3 Soil and Environmental Management
An in-depth look at soils as an environmental component. The role of soil in global nutrient cycling. Soil control of pollutants in air and water. Effects of pollutants on soil processes and the effect of processes on pollutants.
SSR 423-3 Management of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
Characteristics and classification: physical, chemical, biological and mineralogical properties. Problems associated with soils of the arid and semi-arid regions: erosion hazard, spatial variability, salinity and sodicity. Reclamation and management of arid and semi-arid soils. Irrigation: principles and practices, quality of irrigation water.
SSR 424-3 Advanced Soil Science
Students are expected to conduct a literature review on a specific topics on recent developments in either soil fertility, soil chemistry, soil physics or environmental issues related to soil science, compile and submit it in a scientific format and also present as a seminar, an extended abstract. in addition, students will conduct a mini research from which they are expected to give oral presentations of their proposals and submit final reports.
SSR 444-6 Soil Science Project
Each student shall identify or choose a researchable topic in consultation with an assigned Supervisor. He/she shall execute a research-based project under supervision of the Department. The student shall be required to present a seminar on her / his findings and may be required to defend the project before an external examiner.
Courses for M.Sc. and Ph.D. Programmes in Soil Science
All courses will be offered through a combination of lectures, laboratory, field practical instruction and seminars. Courses at the 600 level are for M.Sc. while those at 700 are for Ph.D. candidates.
SSR 600-3 Research Methods
The course shall emphasize philosophy of science and the role of research as a scientific method. Project designs in applied and basic research; identification of researchable problems and determination of priorities; formulation of research proposals; the nature of empirical research, analysis of the resource base and data quality control; Graphical and statistical presentation of data; elements of technical writing. The course also entails the computer application in agriculture: use of statistical software, work processing and graphics.
SSR 601-3 Biometrics I-Introduction to Biometrics
Descriptive statistics; probability concepts; basic statistical inference; Fundamental of experimental design and analysis.
SSR 602-3 Biometrics II-Experimental Designs
Principles of experimental designs; analysis of variance; one-way and multiway classifications, factor8ial experiments, split-plot designs, co-variance; Multiple comparisons; Linear regression; Non-Linear regression.
SSR 603-3 Soil Physics
Physical principles involved in the retention and movement of water, gases, heat, and chemical compounds in the soil system. Physical laws governing availability of soil water. Plant water uptake and drainage as related to irrigation and dryland water management. Water regimes; solute movement; gas movement; thermal regime of soils. Physical properties and their relationships to plant growth, soil erosion and conservation, agronomic and engineering practices.
SSR 604-3 Soil Chemistry
The context and scope of soil chemistry; composition of soils; cation and anion exchange; soil reaction; oxidation-reduction reactions in soils; soil organics; soil chemistry and plant nutrition; salt affected soils.
SSR 605-3 Soil Microbiology
Microbial growth including methodology; critical environmental factors influencing growth, fecundity, activity and distribution in soils; microbial nutrition, metabolism and autotrophy; major groups of soil organism; microbial interrelationships, ecology, transformations and biological processes; biological nitrogen fixation; rhizosphere and mycorrhiza; degradation of organic and synthetic molecules; biogeo-chemical cycles and environmental microbiology; quantitative methods; isolation of various micro-organisms from soil and water bodies; determination of biomass.
SSR 606-3 Soil Biochemistry
Description and types of organic substances in soil; isolation and characterisation of soil bio-chemicals; carbohydrates and their isolation, composition, transformation, decomposition and methods of characterisation; organic acids in soils, their production, distribution and pedogenic activity; metabolism of bio-chemicals, energy relationships in soil biochemistry including nitrogen, phosphate containing organics; pesticide decomposition in soils; enzymes in soil and microbiological and biochemical aspects of the rhizosphere.
SSR 607-4 Soil Survey and Land Evaluation
Types and categories of soil survey; legend design for soil surveys; remote sensing applications in soil surveys; soil survey contract formulation and execution; land-use objectives; evaluation of soil resources for various land-use objectives; land-use practice in relation to soil and water conservation; automated land evaluation systems; field mapping and evaluation in practice.
SSR 608-4 Remote Sensing
Elements of photogrammetry and techniques of aerial photo interpretation; aerial photography and its use in soil mapping and identification of soils, vegetation and terrain analysis; satellite systems and imagery; selection and interpretation of satellite data for inventories of natural resources; geographic information systems.
SSR 609-2 Soil Chemical Measurements
Principles of soil testing; physical-chemical aspects of nutrient availability; sampling and variability; soil pH and lime requirement determinations; organic matter and carbon determinations; testing soils for available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other essential elements; CEC and other exchangeable cations, micronutrient; salinity and sodicity.
SSR 610-3 Fertilizer Technology
Prescribing soil and crop nutrient needs; agronomic and statistical evaluation of fertilizer response; economics of fertilisation, fertilizer evaluation; fertiliser placement; residual effects of fertilizers.
SSR 611-3 Soil-Plant-Water Relationships
Soil-plant-atmosphere continuum; field water regimes; infiltration and surface runoff; redistribution of soil water; the concept of field capacity and available water; evaporation, water uptake by plants; water movement in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum; transpiration and water-use efficiency; soil water deficits and plant growth; water requirements of field crops.
SSR 612-3 Soil and Water Management
Concepts of soil and water management and implications for sustainable production; water conservation; principles and practices; drainage systems and drainage problems; surface water management through leaching, fallowing and surface cover; processes and factors influencing soil erosion; water and wind erosion; processes and models; biological and mechanical methods of erosion control with emphasis on control strategies in Lesotho; reclamation and management of degraded and salt-affected lands. Watershed management and rehabilitation of degraded lands.
SSR 613-2 Soil Science Seminar
Candidates for Master of Science shall register or a maximum of 1 credit hour each academic to conduct independent study in any area of soil science or related field and present their findings in an academic seminar.
SSR 699-6-10 Masters Thesis
Candidates in Plan A of the M.Sc. Programme shall develop research proposals and conduct independent research under the supervision of a graduate committee.
SSR 711-3 Advanced Topics in Soil Science
This course will selectively address some specialized topics and areas of study in sol science in accordance with student’s needs. The instruction approach shall participatory with a combination of lecture and critical review assignments.
SSR 712-3 Soil and Water Pollution
Soils in the environment: problems and solutions; heavy metals and radionuclides in soil; soils and pollution; soil chemistry and fresh water quality; water quality; physical and chemical characteristics of water.
SSR 713-3 Soil Mineralogy
Rocks and rock forming minerals; mineralogical composition of the sand and silt fraction; the nature, structure and properties of the clay fraction with emphasis on clay minerals; identification, analysis and quantitative estimation of various clays.
SSR 714-3 Soil Micromophology
Principles of micromorphology; micromorphology of the alteration of some common soil forming minerals; the role of micromorphology in soil genesis and classification; pedofeatures; micromorphology of major soil orders in Lesotho; soil pedological techniques petrographic and electron microscopy; collection and preparation of samples for micromorphological studies; thin sectioning, marking and staining techniques.
SSR 715-3 Physical Soil Chemistry
Colloids and colloidal properties of soils; basic concepts of chemical thermodynamics; soil solution thermodynamics, soil reaction kinetics; anion uptake and retention; soil electrochemistry; thermodynamics of soil water.
SSR 716-3 Soil Genesis and Classification
Macro and micromorphological properties of soils; soil composition and characterisation; pedogenic processes and soil development and external factors of soil formation; principles and historical developments of soil classification; modern soil classification systems with emphasis on the structure of the US soil taxonomy, FOAM and South African systems; soils of Lesotho.
SSR 717-3 Advanced Soil Fertility
Modelling approaches in the study of natural systems; empirical models relating to nutrient supply and uptake; nutrient use efficiency expression; quasimechanistic models; sensitivity analysis and validation of models; soil nutrient cycles; mineralization kinetics; use of isotopes in nutrient studies; analysis of time dependent processes; fertiliser management and nutrient supply.
SSR 718-2 Seminar
Ph.D. candidates shall register for a maximum of 1 credit hour each semester of their final academic year to conduct independent study in any area of soil science or related field and present their finding in an academic seminar.
SSR 799-30 Ph.D. Dissertation
Candidates shall develop research proposals and conduct original and independent research under the supervision of a graduate committee.