February 22, 1983

A cause of America's growing agricultural trade tension with Europe is well illustrated on Rene and Nicole Barbot's tiny, muddy farm in Normandy. This young French couple, both in their mid-thirties, are trying to build a life for themselves and their three children on just 20 acres of land in the village of Conde-sur-Vire. They share the property, bought eight years ago on a 25-year mortgage, with 19 cows, 150 calves, a shed full of rabbits and a goat. As farmers, the Barbots are educated, modern and efficient. Even so, to make ends meet on so little land, they must be sure of selling their produce at very high prices. And so must the rest of Europe's 3.6 million farmers who have only 20 acres or less on which to live - just a 20th the size of an average American farm, but half the average size of one in Europe. ''We have to work very hard to survive,'' Mr. Barbot explained recently over a midmorning glass of fiery Calvados, which he distills from his own apples.

An article on the Academy Award nominations in Weekend on Friday incorrectly cited the number of previous dual-nomination winners.

International The Middle East peace plan proposed by President Reagan is an unacceptable basis for solving the Palestinian problem, the Palestine Liberation Organization has decided. A P.L.O. spokesman also said the organization would not give Jordan a mandate to negotiate with Washington on its behalf. (Page A1, Column 6.) Features of distant galaxies have been revealed in infrared images received from a new United States telescope that has begun orbiting the Earth. The telescope has also revealed cosmic ''maternity wards'' where clouds of interstellar gas and dust appear to be in various stages of giving birth to stars. (A1:2-4.)

An article Jan. 17 on graduate-program ratings by four national academic organizations omitted a department from the ''top 10'' listing in microbiology, ranked by faculty reputation. The department, at the University of Washington, ranked third, after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rockefeller University.

PUBLIC concern over the quality of science and mathematics teaching has risen in recent years to a pitch recalling the frenzy of reform that followed the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik 1, 25 years ago. Though there is yet no consensus on what exactly should be done, a great many public officials at all levels now agree that some kind of action is required, and soon. Earlier this month, reversing its previous policy of noninvolvement, the Reagan Administration proposed the allocation over the next four years of more than $200 million to address the nationwide shortage of science and mathematics teachers. In Congress, already more than a dozen bills are pending that address the shortage of teachers, the need for new research and the replacement of outmoded equipment.