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Subject: New Summer Course: Tropical Fungi and Plant Health PLSC489U/689J Description: I will be teaching a short-term course in the summer 2015 entitled Tropical Fungi and Plant Health. This will be a field course in Costa Rica. Here is an overview of the course: This field course in Costa Rica will teach students about fungi in their natural habitats and in agricultural settings. Students will learn how fungi can affect crop and natural plants. This will be accomplished by hands-on learning in the field and laboratory in the forests and agricultural fields where the plants grow. Students will visit natural tropical forests, and collect and identify from microscopic fungi to macroscopic mushrooms. The students will also visit farms where different crops are produced, from very local subsistence agriculture (for example, rice and beans and other vegetables) to large-scale agriculture for export to the United States (for example, bananas, pineapples, ornamentals, and others). Students will learn how to identify plant diseases that affect those crops. Students from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) will also participate. Students from both universities will develop short research projects during the course. This course follows a very similar format to those taught by the Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS); for those of you who know about them. Dates: July 19 – August 2, 2015. There is space for 8-12 UMD students, graduate and/or undergraduate. There will be a similar number of Costa Rican students participating. For more information, go to: http://globalmaryland.umd.edu/offices/education-abroad/program/11218 Please help me spread the word out. If you have questions or want more information, please contact me. Priscila Chaverri ------------------------- Associate Professor Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture University of Maryland 2112 Plant Sciences Bldg. College Park, Maryland 20742 UNITED STATES Email: [log in to unmask] Phone: +1 301 405-7041 URL: http://psla.umd.edu/research/research-lab-pages/mycology-chaverri-lab Contact Person: Priscila Chaverri Contact Email: [log in to unmask]