Departmental Mission

Our mission is to understand and improve plant health.

What do we do?

We learn how plants and pathogens interact and how the environment affects that interaction. We modify plants so they can fight diseases and improve yield and quality. We transfer genes from wild plants to crop plants to increase genetic diversity.

We study bacteria, fungi, nematodes and viruses; bioinformatics, biological control, biotechnology, disease diagnosis and management, disease physiology, ecology and epidemiology, host and microbial genetics and cytogenetics, modeling/statistics, molecular genetics, and molecular plant-microbe interactions.

Why study plants?

We study plant health to understand life. Plants, animals, and microbes share common basic features. Research on plant genomics helps define gene function in other forms of life, even humans. Plants feed, clothe, and protect us. They provide energy for a variety of uses. They enhance the quality of our lives. They are crucial to our existence.

We foster excellence in research, teaching, extension, and service, and this has been recognized in our faculty awards and student awards.