The center for Crop protection deals with the management of pests and diseases affecting the growth of crop plants. This center includes the disciplines of
Agricultural entomology is a multidisciplinary area of research with collaboration with other units both within and outside of the department. Simply described agricultural entomology is applied ecology with roots in plant protection and the population dynamics of insects.
The focus of the agricultural entomology is not only insect pests, but also the beneficial arthropods found in the agroecosystem that contribute to ecosystem services such as biological control and pollination. The plant protection is the interaction among pest insects, their natural enemies and alternative prey.
Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants. Plant pathology also involves the study of pathogen identification, disease etiology, disease cycles, economic impact, plant disease epidemiology, plant disease resistance, how plant diseases affect humans and animals, pathosystem genetics, and management of plant diseases.
Nematodes are a diverse group of worm-like animals. They are found in virtually every environment that can support life, and are found in fresh water, in salt water, in all kinds of soil, and as internal parasites of humans and animals.
