Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, & Plant Science

David Wright, Department Head
Brent Turnipseed, Assistant Department Head, Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator
Howard Woodard, Graduate Teaching Coordinator
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science
Berg Agricultural Hall 244
605-688-5123 (Department Head, SAG 244)
605-688-4450 (Teaching Office, SNP 247)

Faculty

Distinguished Professors

Sharon Clay, Douglas Malo

Professors

John Ball, Arvid Boe, Rhoda Burrows, David Clay, James Doolittle, Anne Fennell, Billy Fuller, Karl Glover, David Graper, Xingyou Gu, Paul Johnson, Marie Langham, Vance Owens, Brent Turnipseed, Howard Woodard, David Wright

Associate Professors

Shaukat Ali, Jose Gonzalez, Sandeep Kumar, Wanlong Li, Thandiwe Nleya, Peter Sexton, Senthil Subramanian, Jixiang Wu

Assistant Professors

Stephanie Bruggeman, Emmanuel Byamukama, Melanie Caffe-Treml, Jason Clark, Chris Graham, Jose Guzman, Péter Kovács, Qin Ma, Shinyi Marzano, Febina Mathew, Sunish Sehgal, Adam Varenhorst

Lecturers

Jiyul Chang, Hani Ghosheh, Cheryl Reese

Instructors

Brett Owens

Emeritus

George Buchenau, C. Dean Dybing, Norman Evers, James Gerwing, Robert Hall, Donald Kenefick, Robert Kohl, Ronald Peterson, Robert Pollmann, Dale Reeves, Diane Rickerl, Thomas Schumacher, Clair Stymiest, Leon Wrage

Overview

The primary goal of the Department is to prepare students for success and leadership in business, government, and enterprises related to the Agronomy and Horticulture programs. In addition, students can prepare for graduate study leading to a career in research, teaching, business, or extension. Graduates with training in plant science are sought by agri-business, horticultural businesses, private foundations, and federal and state agencies for employment in domestic and international agriculture.

The Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science department is also proud of the strong tradition of research and extension, leading to improved plant varieties, increased agricultural productivity, better understanding of plant diseases, and new plant variety releases for producers. The extension activities have translated these advances into public knowledge on topics as varied as the impacts of tillage on soil carbon levels, and the genomic basis of grape quality.

Programs

Majors

• Agronomy (B.S.)  
• Horticulture (B.S.)  
• Precision Agriculture (B.S.)  

Minors

• Agronomy Minor  
• Horticulture Minor  
• Pest Management Minor  
• Precision Agriculture Minor  
• Soil Science Minor  

Certification Preparation Programs

• Soil Science Certification  

Graduate Programs*

• Plant Science (M.S.)
• Biological Sciences (Ph.D.) - Plant Molecular Biology Specialization
• Biological Sciences (Ph.D.) - Plant Science Specialization
• Plant Science (Ph.D.)

* Graduate degrees are offered in collaboration with the Graduate School. For details, see the Graduate Catalog.

Facilities & Services

The department is housed in seven buildings across campus. These buildings provide research and teaching laboratories, greenhouses, seed house facilities and access to the functional genomics core facility. The on and off-campus facilities also include the SDSU Seed Testing Laboratory, SDSU Plant Diagnostics Clinic, Seed Certification, and Foundation Seed Stocks Division, which operates as services for the public. In addition, the department conducts research at five research farms near campus and five research stations across the state. The Field Specialists are housed in seven regional extension offices across the state.

Student Support & Engagement Opportunities

Numerous opportunities are available for part-time employment, scholarships, and work-study programs. The Arboriculture Club, Agronomy and Conservation Club, and Horticulture and Urban Agriculture Club offer opportunities for fellowship, leadership, and career planning. The Department has nationally recognized crops, horticulture, and soils judging teams.