Academic Staff
Program Information
The Department of Plant Science is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and draws together expertise in both the applied and basic sciences. Since its origin in 1937, the Department has maintained a leading role in agricultural research in Canada. Its achievements in rapeseed and canola breeding and in cereal breeding and cytogenetics are known world-wide. Faculty members have major research programs in agronomy and plant protection, plant breeding and genetics, and plant physiology-biochemistry (elaborated below). The graduate program of coursework offers considerable choice to the student and is based mainly on the student’s primary interests and previous scholarly training. In general, a series of graduate courses in the student’s chosen field offered by the Department of Plant Science is required for the major credit. A wide range of courses in ancillary fields (e.g., botany, chemistry, statistics, soils, etc.) may be chosen to complete the graduate coursework.
Fields of Research
Programs of study and research are offered in the following areas, leading to the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees.
Agronomy and Plant Protection: Cropping systems research; annual and perennial crop agronomy including rotational benefits of traditional and novel legumes; self-regenerating cover crops; long term organic vs conventional crop productions systems; pasture water use efficiency. Farming systems; salinity and edible beans; late- and early-season resource use of cover crops; forage seed production; soybean fertility and agronomy; technology transfer between analogous zones (Canada and the former USSR); hemp agronomy. Weed biology, ecology and eco-physiology; integrated weed management; the impact of management techniques on weed community assembly; crop/weed competition. Canola and wheat pathology; breeding for disease resistance; applied and molecular approaches to understanding the epidemiology of plant pathogens; biological control and mode of action by antagonists on plant pathogens; isolation, identification and characterization of microbial genes involved in pest control; proteomics in host-pathogen resistance; IPM in sustainable agricultural systems. Genetics of host-parasite interactions in leaf spot diseases of wheat, with emphasis on tan spot and septoria leaf blotch; breeding for disease resistance; diseases of pulse crops; application of image analysis to disease quantification; development of research and educational software. Biochemical and molecular mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions, with an emphasis on plant defense reactions and the mechanisms of their suppression by pathogens; mechanisms of biological control of plant diseases; role of secondary metabolites (i.e., phenolics, terpenes ) in defense and defense signalling and role of inducers and suppressors in induced resistance.
Plant Breeding and Genetics: Wheat breeding and genetics; modelling crop development and yield; genetics of resistance to leaf spotting diseases; development and evaluation of breeding methodologies; genetics of herbicide resistance; development of Fusarium Head Blight resistant germplasm; development of wheat for fuel and feed. Open pollinated population and hybrid canola/rapeseed breeding; open pollinated population and hybrid herbicide tolerant canola/rapeseed breeding; agronomy and genetic studies in canola/rapeseed; bio-products and bio-fuels research and development. Plant genomics and molecular biology; genetic and transcriptome mapping, gene profiling and cloning; construction of high density SRAP maps and molecular marker development; cloning of genes involved in the pathways of glucosinolates and fatty acids, and for disease resistance, seed coat colour, and male sterility in Brassica crops. Improvement of oil content and oil quality in canola rapeseed through traditional and molecular breeding with special emphasis on development of Brassicas suitable as feed stock for biodiesel; plant genomics to isolate, clone and study the expression of economically important genes for use in breeding programs. Gene expression in plants during resistant or susceptible interactions with fungal or bacterial pathogens; genetic engineering of disease resistance; bioinformatics.
Plant Physiology-Biochemistry: Biochemical and molecular analyses of host-fungal pathogen interactions in wheat with emphasis on tan spot disease; fungal toxin structure and toxin mode of action. Biochemistry and physiology of anaerobic stress in cereals; biochemistry and molecular biology of abscisic acid metabolism in cereals; cereal germination physiology and biochemistry. Physiology and molecular biology of embryo development in-vivo and in-vitro; improvement of embryo quality and plant regeneration of both angiosperm and gymnosperm species through tissue culture techniques. Biochemistry and molecular biology of starch biosynthesis in cereals with emphasis on winter wheat; application of innovative technologies to improve the speed and efficiency of wheat cultivar development specifically for ethanol production; biofuels; abscisic acid signaling, and RNA metabolism.
There is a wide range of employment opportunities for M.Sc. and Ph.D. graduates from the Department of Plant Science, including research and teaching positions at universities throughout the world, research and extension positions with the federal and provincial governments and positions in private industry.
Research Facilities
The Department of Plant Science has excellent research facilities including well-equipped laboratories, ample greenhouse space and controlled-environment chambers, and a horticultural-research storage building. A 60 hectare field research station is situated on campus within walking distance of the Plant Science Building. As well the Department has a 165 hectare field-research station located at Carman, Manitoba on prime agricultural soil.
M.Sc. in Plant Science
Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar.
