Overview

Mission

Welcome to one of the largest and oldest colleges of plant protection in China. Regarded as leaders in plant pathology, entomology, pest management and pesticide science, the members of our academic family work to feed our world, protect our crops and environment, improve public health, grow the economy and enrich our young generations.

History

The history of College of Plant Protection can be traced back to 1936, when the teaching group for plant diseases and insect pests was formed in the National Northwest Junior College of Agriculture and Forestry. In the same year, the College began to enroll undergraduate students. In 1960, it started the enrollment of graduate students.

During the past 70 years, the college has fostered about 7,000 excellent students. Currently, the College has 1,356 students, including 241 doctoral candidates, 440 master candidates, 23 international students, and 652 undergraduate students.

Departments, Research Institutes, and Centers

The College includes three teaching departments: Department of Plant Pathology, Department of Agricultural Entomology and Pest Control, and Department of Pesticide Science; three research institutes, Institute of Plant Pathology, Institute of Entomology, and Institute of Pesticide Sciences; two centers: Teaching and Research Renter, and the Plant Protection Technology Transfer and Extension Service Center; and a general office for daily administration. Meanwhile, it has 2 undergraduate programs in plant protection and pharmaceutical engineering, 1 first level doctoral degree program for plant protection with a mobile post-doctoral research station, 5 second level doctoral and master degree programs for plant pathology, agricultural entomology and pest control, pesticide science, ecological engineering for pest management, and plant protection resource utilization, among which, plant pathology is the “state key discipline”, agricultural entomology and pest control is the “state key (to cultivate) discipline”, and pesticide science is a key discipline of Shaanxi Province.

In addition, the college has 12 scientific research platforms for technological innovation at state, provincial and university levels, i.e. the Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources and Pest Management under the Ministry of Education，the Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Integrated Management and Biosystematics under the Ministry of Agriculture, the Key Laboratory of Botanical Pesticides Research and Development under Shaanxi Province, the Pollution-free Pest Control Technology Innovation Center under the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bio-pesticide Engineering Research Center under Shaanxi Province, the Taibai National Field Research Station of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici under the Ministry of Agriculture; the Sci-tech Innovation Platform of Crop Pest Integrated Management and Bio-pesticides Innovation funded by the national “985” program, the innovation and talents introduction base under the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, and the Key Laboratory of Applied Entomology under the university.

Faculty and Staff

The College had many internationally and nationally well-known scholars, including Prof. Zhenqi Li, one of the most famous plant pathologists and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Prof. Jiangchun Wei, a famous Lichen mycologists and a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Prof. Io Chou, a renowned entomologist.

At present, the college has 157 full-time staff, including 46 full professors and senior researchers, and 46 associate professors and junior researchers. Among them, there are 2 national distinguished experts, 2 Changjiang Scholars, 2 outstanding Young Talent of the National Science Foundation for China, 12 members of “New Century Talents Program” sponsored by Ministry of Education, and several internationally and nationally well-known scholars.

National and International Exchange and Collaboration

The college has established close cooperative relations with science and education units at home and abroad, with numerous experts and scholars were invited to give lectures or to develop collaborative researches, and the scholars dispatched to the United States, Germany, France, and many other countries. Moreover, the College hosted more than many international and national academic conferences

Plant Pathology

Plant Pathology is a multi-faceted discipline that comprises many diverse subjects. To reflect this diversity, the department is organized into the following three programs of graduate study, shown with their major emphases: Biology and Ecology of Plant Pathogens, Epidemiology and Population Biology of Plant Pathogens, Etiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Plant Diseases. Researches in wheat stripe rust are nationally and internationally recognized. The College also has strong research programs in plant immunology, viral diseases, insect vectored diseases, potato late blight, apple blight, the variety resistance and virulence variation, the biology of plant virus - insect vector interactions, virus diseases of grain crops, virus disease management and epidemiology.

Entomology and Pest Control

While research projects in entomology are as numerous and diverse as the faculty, research professionals, and students, several programs are unique, not only for a college in plant protection but also for most universities. The collective strength of the diverse research programs are nationally and internationally recognized for their innovation and productivity in advancing science and its application to the benefit of economic growth, food security and safety, social development, and the environment. The Insect Collection is the centerpiece of entomological systematics as it houses more than two million curated specimens and serves as a foundational piece to understanding insect phylogeny, evolution and biological diversity. Several research projects in insect biological control (aphids and whiteflies), insect ecology, insect biochemistry and molecular biology.

Pesticide Science

Researches in botanical pesticides, such as the discovery of the insecticidal active compound – Celangulin and several others, have been widely used for pest management.

In the new era, all staff of the college is striving hard to make the college become an internationally renowned research and educational institution.