Department of Plant Protection
Plant Protection
The Department of Plant Protection is one of the most active department under the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. The department as section of Plant Protection was started under the umbrella of Institute of Agriculture during 1993-94 with the vision to protect crop plants from pests and diseases and to enhance crop productivity through ecofriendly and sustainable management approaches. Initially, the department offered M.Sc. (Agriculture) Plant Protection. However, to keep pace with the advancement of science, need of famers and demand of market, the M.Sc. degree was trifurcated into three independent master’s degrees and doctoral programmes viz. M.Sc. (Ag.) Entomology, M.Sc. (Ag.) Plant Pathology and M.Sc. (Ag.) Nematology which are being offered by the Department of Plant Protection.
The department is blessed with seven highly qualified and experienced faculty members, and six non-teaching staff. Learned teachers of the department have also served the nation in various academic as well as administrative capacities. One of the teachers, Prof. Akhtar Haseeb has served as vice chancellor of an agricultural university. The department has so far received wide range of awards/accolades/recognitions including Best Teacher Award, Outstanding Researchers, Best Research Project Award, Vigyan Gaurav, FNAAS, FPSI, etc.
In order to update and augment their knowledge, teachers of the department have been very active in faculty recharging strategies by attending workshops, trainings, conferences, etc. The department has published around 1200 articles including 600 research papers, 125 book chapters, 20 books, 06 patents, 04 Newsletters, 426 abstracts, 13 popular articles, 13 bulletins and 03 leaflets/pamphlets. A total of 45 Ph.Ds. have been awarded by the Department of Plant Protection till October 2020. The faculty members have also delivered TV talks and made the farmers aware about the pathogenic microbes and insect pests infesting certain agriculturally important crops.
Department of Plant Protection has also received extramural funding from DBT, DST, ICAR, CSTUP, UGC etc. and successfully completed fifteen major research projects. One US and one India patents have been awarded to the faculty of the department and four patents have been published. The department has been actively engaged in international research collaborations, collaborating with the scientists of USA, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, China, Singapore, etc. and brought out high impact factor joint publications. Besides, the department has also been involved in collaboration with USA through Global Initiative Academic Network (GIAN) programme, Government of India. Two PG courses, M.Sc. (Agriculture) Entomology and M.Sc. (Agriculture) Plant Pathology have also been accredited by Indian Council of Agricultural Research with A grade in 2019. The department is also being financially supported by ICAR for strengthening of education on the basis of yearly academic performance and progress. Two classrooms have been transformed into smart class room equipped with IT tools for effective teaching. For research purpose, all essential equipments have been largely procured through ICAR and UGC funding, and also from extramural funding through various research projects. These equipments are well maintained and being utilized properly. In addition, the department has always stood forefront in providing the on-spot solution to the farmers of Aligarh and its adjoining area through outreach/ extension activities. The Department of Plant Protection has organized a number of national conference, alumni meet, webinar, online symposia etc.
Vision
To enhance crop productivity through sustainable plant protection approaches
Mission
To pursue innovative research for crop losses caused by pest and diseases through plant protection knowledge.
To evolve effective, economically viable and eco-friendly pest and disease management technologies.
Programme Outcome
M.Sc. (Ag.) Plant Pathology
- Identification of plant pathogens and microbial antagonists.
- Training to devise strategies for the management of plant diseases.
- Addressing the farmer’s problems with regard to plant diseases in regional and national perspectives and their management.
- To address environmental issues in relation to use of agro-chemicals in plant disease management by adopting biointensive and integrated approaches.
- To develop skills on experimental designs, analytical techniques, research data computation and statistical analysis.
M.Sc. (Ag.) Entomology
- Identification of insect pests and their natural enemies.
- Training to devise strategies for the management of insect pests.
- Addressing the farmer’s problems with regard to insect pests of regional and national significance and their management.
- To address environmental issues in relation to use of agro-chemicals in insect pest management by adopting biointensive and integrated approaches.
- To develop skills on experimental designs, analytical techniques, research data computation and statistical analysis.
M.Sc. (Ag.) Nematology (newly introduced, 2020-21)
- Identification of plant parasitic nematodes and their interaction with other microbes.
- Training to devise strategies for the management of plant parasitic nematodes.
- Addressing the problems of nematodes in different crop ecosystems to the farmers and their management through sustainable approaches.
- To obviate environmental issues in relation to use of agro-chemicals in nematode management.
- To develop skills on experimental designs, analytical techniques, data collection and statistical analysis.
