About Us
The fundamental objective and vision of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences is to integrate:
- creative basic research on plants and soils,
- applied research appropriately focused on significant agronomic issues, and
- effective educational programs, on- and off-campus; for the purpose of enhancing crop production and land resource management in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The Department of Plant and Soil Sciences is one of the largest units - and perhaps the most diverse department - at the University of Kentucky. The Department strives to balance, and excel in, all three mission areas of a land grant institution: teaching, research and extension. The subject matter being addressed is enormously broad: it includes the chemistry, physics and biology of both plant and soil systems; and it ranges from the molecular, to the whole plant, to the ecosystem level.
Graduate and undergraduate instructional activities are also diverse. Plant and Soil Science faculty provide advising, instruction and administrative leadership for three undergraduate degree programs and four graduate programs. Undergraduate students may major in Natural Resource Conservation and Management, Agricultural Biotechnology, or Plant and Soil Science. The latter major offers flexible options in several areas including environmental studies, horticulture, turf grass and crop production. Graduate degrees are available in Plant and Soil Sciences at the M.S. level and, at the doctoral level, in Soil Science, Crop Science and Plant Physiology.
Department personnel and programs are organized as follows:
- Mission areas:
- teaching;
- research;
- extension.
- Discipline groups:
- plant physiology/biochemistry/molecular biology;
- plant breeding/genetics;
- crop ecology/physiology/management;
- soil science.
- Commodity/resource committees:
- corn;
- forages;
- seed;
- small grains;
- soil;
- soybean;
- tobacco;
- turf;
- weeds.