Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, & Plant Science

David Wright, Department Head
Brent Turnipseed, Assistant Department Head
Hani Ghosheh, Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator
Sunish Sehgal, Graduate Teaching Coordinator
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science
Raven Precision Agriculture Center 140
605-688-4600 (Department Head, SRPAC 140)
605-688-4450 (Teaching Office, SNP 247)

Faculty

Distinguished Professors

David Clay, Sharon Clay, Anne Fennell, Douglas Malo, Leon Wrage

Professors

John Ball, Bruce Bleakley, Arvid Boe, Rhoda Burrows, C. Gregg Carlson, Billy Fuller, Karl Glover, Jose Gonzalez-Hernandez, Xingyou Gu, Paul J. Johnson, Wanlong Li, Thandiwe Nleya, Senthil Subramanian, Brent Turnipseed, David Wright, Jixiang Wu

Associate Professors

Shaukat Ali, Melanie Caffe, Chris Graham, Febina Mathew, Sunish Sehgal, Peter Sexton, Adam Varenhorst

Assistant Professors

Gazala Ameen, Jason Clark, Péter Kovács, Kristine Lang, Kristopher Osterloh, Sutie Xu

Senior Lecturers

Jiyul Chang, Hani Ghosheh, Cheryl Reese

Lecturer

Navreet Mahal

Emeritus

George Buchenau, C. Gregg Carlson, James Doolittle, C. Dean Dybing, James Gerwing, David F. Graper, Robert Hall, Marie Langham, Donald Kenefick, Douglas Malo, Vance Owens, Ronald Peterson, Robert Pollmann, Dale Reeves, Diane Rickerl, Thomas Schumacher, Clair Stymiest, Fedora Sutton, Howard Woodard, Leon Wrage

Overview

Our goal is to prepare students for success and leadership in business, government, and enterprises related to the Agronomy, Horticulture and Precision Agriculture programs. In addition, students can prepare for graduate study leading to a career in research, teaching, business, or extension. Graduates with training in plant sciences 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

Minors

Certification Preparation

Soil Science Certification

Graduate Programs*

Biological Sciences (Ph.D.) - Plant Molecular Biology Specialization
Biological Sciences (Ph.D.) - Plant Science Specialization
Plant Science (M.S.)
Plant Science (Ph.D.)
Precision Agriculture Certificate
Professional Science (M.S.) - Precision Agriculture Emphasis

* 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 four research farms near campus and four 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.