Plant Biology Profile

After defining intensive agriculture and analyzing its risks and benefits, this module will enable students to reflect on various possible approaches to transitioning agriculture toward an agroecological model. Examples such as biopesticides, ecological intensification, and soil management will be explored. A field trip to a company committed to sustainable agriculture is also organized. The site visited varies from year to year depending on student preferences and company availability. Examples of field trips conducted as part of this module include visits to Bayer, Vilmorin, Geves, CTIFL, and sudExpé.

Bachelor's degrees.

Students will be asked to present a project or business plan that develops innovative proposals to advance farming practices or any other use of plant products in order to reduce environmental impact.

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This course unit presents the major functions of carbon, mineral, and water nutrition in plants that enable their autotrophy (the production of their biomass). It will provide the necessary foundation for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of nutrient absorption, distribution, and assimilation. The course unit will consist of two main parts: one dedicated to mineral nutrition and the other to carbon nutrition.

After reviewing the properties of membranes and plant cell walls and the concepts of transmembrane transport, the section of the course devoted to mineral nutrition will cover the mechanisms of water absorption and circulation, root absorption, subcellular compartmentalization, and mineral distribution, as well as nitrogen assimilation metabolism.

The chapter on carbon nutrition will discuss how chloroplasts function in plant cells, photosynthesis (the capture of light energy and the synthesis of primary carbon compounds), the production of organic compounds, and their distribution within the plant.

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This course unit is an introductory module to scientific research in fundamental or applied plant agricultural sciences. Students must complete an internship of 10 weeks or more (which may continue through the summer) in a research laboratory (CNRS, INRAE, IRD, CIRAD), at an applied research organization such as GEVES, CTIFL, SudExpe, Serfel, or IFV, or at a private company such as Staphyt, AgroXp, or Vilmorin. There are numerous internship opportunities in this field in the Montpellier area.

This is a module designed to prepare students for the professional world by connecting them with key players in the field of plant agricultural sciences, giving students the opportunity to:

• to apply the techniques learned in the various course units of the BiPAgro track of the bachelor’s degree program.
• to gain experience in the professional world
• to develop your own career plan and enhance your resume

The student writes a thesis, which he or she defends before a committee composed of faculty members, researchers, and/or field technicians or engineers. 

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