Dr. van Iersel teaches Advanced Plant Nutrition (Hort 8130, taught in the Spring of even numbered years), which focuses on nutrient uptake by roots (active and passive, electrochemical gradients, transport across membranes); short and long distance transport of nutrients; nitrogen fixation and metabolism; functions of essential nutrients in the metabolism of plants; beneficial nutrients; plant nutrition, yield, and quality; nutrition, diseases and pests; and plant and soil analysis.
Dr. van Iersel also teaches Environmental Physiology, HORT(CRSS) 4440/6440-4440L/6440L, offered fall semester every year. This course focuses on the effects of environmental factors on growth and physiology of horticultural plants and modification of the plant's environment to improve crop production.
A new graduate course in Photosynthesis and Respiration is currently under development. This class will focus on metabolic and environmental control of photosynthesis, respiration, and growth; the balance between photosynthesis, growth respiration, and maintenance respiration; photosynthesis, growth, and yield; and different approaches to measuring photosynthetic processes ranging from the chloroplast level to whole crops. The emphasis in this class will be on photosynthesis and respiration at the whole plant/crop level, because these issues are often ignored in plant physiology classes even though they are crucial to understanding crop growth.
Consumer demand for organically-produced horticultural crops continues to grow each year. The USDA has responded to this demand by increasingly providing funding for organic and sustainable agriculture. Many universities, including NC State and UC Davis, offer upper level courses in these areas and provide a space for hands on learning. UGA will now be joining these universities with the founding of the UGA organic agriculture certification program. Two acres of UGA's Horticulture Research Farm in Watkinsville have been designated as the organic teaching area. Funding for this project comes from the USDA.