Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences
|
|
James B. Johnson, Dept. Head (242 Iddings Wing, Ag Sci Bldg 84844-2339; phone 208/885-6277; pseshead@uidaho.edu). Crop and Weed Science Division: Division Chair, Robert S. Zemetra, Jack Brown, Jianli Chen, Pamela J.S. Hutchinson, Alexander Karasev, Don W. Morishita, Oliver Neher, Timothy S. Prather, Glenn E. Shewmaker, Shree P. Singh, Donald C. Thill, Juliet M. Windes, and Robert S. Zemetra. Entomology Division: Division Chair, Sanford D. Eigenbrode, Juan M. Alvarez, James D. Barbour, Edward J. Bechinski, Nilsa A. Bosque-Pérez, Sanford D. Eigenbrode, Marc J. Klowden, and Mark Schwarzländer, Eric Wenninger. Horticultural Science Division: Division Chair, Jeffrey C. Stark, Danny L. Barney, Esmaeil Fallahi, Sanjay Gupta, Saad L. Hafez, Joseph C. Kuhl, Stephen L. Love, S. Krishna Mohan, Phillip Nolte, Nora L. Olsen, Jeffrey C. Stark, Michael Thornton, Robert R. Tripepi, Phillip S. Wharton. Soil and Land Resources Division: Division Chair, Robert L. Mahler, Aurelio Briones, Bradford D. Brown, Robert Heinse, Jodi L. Johnson-Maynard, Hans Kok, Guy R. Knudsen, Robert L. Mahler, Paul A. McDaniel, Amber Moore, Matthew J. Morra, and Daniel G. Strawn.
The Department of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, offers an option in Sustainable Crop and Land Systems within the B.S. Agricultural and Life Sciences major, and M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in entomology, plant science, and soil science.
The Department includes degree programs that focus on the earth's biological and physical resources allowing students to pursue graduate education or careers in agriculture, horticulture, environmental science or an array of biological sciences. Students in agriculture and horticulture develop skills needed for professional careers in crop production, plant maintenance, pest control, biotechnology, and biological control of insects, weeds, and diseases. Students in soil and land resources are prepared for careers relevant to environmental quality and the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of soil and water resources. Specialization in entomology or more basic areas of plant sciences, e.g. molecular biology, can prepare students for continuing education or employment in many fields of biology.
Undergraduate Degree Program:
The multidisciplinary, departmental major Sustainable Crop and Landscape Systems, offers students broad-based preparation in agricultural, horticultural, biological and ecological sciences. There are five areas of emphasis within this degree:
The insects and society emphasis area addresses basic and applied aspects of the study of insects and how they influence human activities. The program provides a broad entomological education with opportunities to specialize in such areas as agricultural and aquatic entomology, biological control, host plant resistance, insect ecology, insect physiology, and insect-plant relations. The curriculum is designed for students pursuing professional careers in the basic and applied fields of entomology, or for those interested in continuing their education at the graduate level.
Under the sustainable cropping systems emphasis area, students can study crop management, plant protection and fundamental aspects of plant sciences. Many courses emphasize environmental concerns, ecological relationships, and sustainability of agricultural systems. Students interested in crop management gain the necessary background to be successful in a wide range of crop related careers in agriculture. They can tailor their academic program in the basic and applied aspects of crop science to suit their individual interests and career goals. The crop and weed science option will prepare students for graduate education or professional careers in cropping systems management, plant protection, agricultural consulting, plant biotechnology, plant breeding and genetics, seed production and certification, and weed science.
The environmental horticulture emphasis area is designed to provide students with a background in production of various horticultural crops and/or urban landscape management. Students can learn about many facets of horticulture, including horticultural crop production (floral crops, woody landscape plants, fruits or vegetables). Students can enroll in courses highlighting production and management of horticultural crops that are economically significant to Idaho and the nation. Students can select courses to help them specialize in a particular career path. An internship is also available, providing insights into professional horticulture careers. Courses in a plant science, soils, biology, and entomology further enhance the knowledge needed for a professional career in horticulture. Students enrolled in this option can prepare for careers in management and operation of commercial greenhouses, nurseries, orchards, vineyards, and vegetable farms. This option is also flexible enough to enable students to pursue science-oriented careers or advanced degree studies. Students can also focus on urban landscape management. They have the opportunity to focus on managing and maintaining the various components of urban landscapes including trees, shrubs, herbaceous plantings, and turf grass. Majors can specialize in landscape maintenance and golf and sports turf management. The package of courses will prepare students for positions in landscape maintenance and tree and turf management within the growing green industries in the Northwestern United States and nationally.
The undergraduate soil and land use emphasis area is offered for students who are interested in businesses, industries, and government agencies associated with soils and farm chemicals, as professional soil scientists working with the formation, classification, chemistry, physics, and fertility of valuable soil resources, or as environmental scientists in conserving or improving soil and water quality. Courses in geology, botany, chemistry, and physics, in addition to soils, are stressed.
The plant biotechnology emphasis area will interest you if you want to work with plants using the latest molecular genetic techniques to address the food and energy needs of the United States and the world in the 21st century. In this program you will learn how to understand, manipulate, and use the genetic information of plants at the molecular level to create and select crop plants with improved yield, improved nutritional value, and/or disease, insect or temperature tolerance to address the challenges brought on by increasing world population, decreasing availability of water for irrigation, and temperature changes brought on by global warming. In addition, you will learn how to modify plant genes to improve the crop plants potential for use in biofuel production. Hands-on experience is possible doing undergraduate research in the plant biotechnology laboratories in the Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences. The plant biotechnology emphasis will prepare students for graduate education or professional careers in academia or industry in the areas of genomics, genetic engineering, marker assisted plant breeding, plant genetics, molecular biology, tissue culture, molecular virology, and other topics.
The degree offerings are designed to prepare students for graduate school and a variety of rewarding career opportunities. Each of these degree programs is based on a curriculum designed to prepare students for present and future employment. The department offers students the opportunity to work closely with faculty in classroom and field situations. The faculty members provide wide educational experiences for students who major in this department. Formal courses are offered as needed to serve the students in the various degree programs, and additional specialization may be obtained by enrolling in directed study, special topics, seminar, and other courses, with particular faculty members. An internship program also is available to provide students with practical job experience and to open doors for career opportunities.
For advanced studies, specially equipped laboratories for histology, anatomy, and physiology and greenhouse laboratory units with controlled temperature and light programmed rooms and growth chambers are available. A state of the art biotechnology facility that has space to accommodate 101 faculty, staff, and students is also available. The university has 1,145 acres for field crops, orchards, and livestock located close to campus. Excellent field and laboratory facilities are also available at research and extension centers at Aberdeen, Parma, and Twin Falls. The department has three important scientific collections: the entomology museum, the soil monolith collection and a weed herbarium. Additionally, the graduate program is closely coordinated with the Departments of Entomology, Crop and Soil Sciences, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, and Plant Pathology at Washington State University (eight miles away), enhancing the department's offerings.
Faculty members are concerned with the needs and interests of individual students. Questions regarding programs, arrangements, or facilities are welcome. Prospective majors in entomology, plant science, or soil and land resources should consult the department head in Room 242, Agricultural Science Building, or telephone 208/885-6277.
Courses
See Part 6 for courses in Entomology (Ent), Plant Science (PlSc), and Soils (Soil).