OPPORTUNITIES IN PLANT PATHOLOGY

OPPORTUNITIES IN PLANT PATHOLOGY

Training for a bachelor’s degree in one of the biological, chemical, or mathematical sciences at an accredited college or university is the first step towards becoming a plant pathologist. Certain employment opportunities may be enhanced by undergraduate coursework or a major in plant pathology. For example, plant pathology expertise is useful for farm and greenhouse managers, park and golf course superintendents, agribusiness sales representatives, and other biological science positions requiring a bachelor’s degree.

Graduate work in plant pathology usually is essential to acquire sufficient knowledge of the science to obtain most professional positions. Most state universities with a college of agriculture offer advanced curricula leading to a master of science and/or a doctor of philosophy degree in plant pathology.

Employment opportunities include research, product development, sales, teaching, extension, administration, regulatory work, and private practice. Certain institutions also offer advanced degrees in crop protection or plant health that combine curricula in crop science, soil science, entomology, weed science, and plant pathology with practical experience to prepare graduates for careers as private or public practitioners of plant health management.

AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITIES

Plant diseases are caused by a variety of living organisms (called pathogens) such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, phytoplasmas, protozoa, and parasitic plants, and by nonliving agents such as air pollutants, nutrient imbalances, and various environmental factors. New diseases and changes in existing pathogens remain a constant threat to our forests, food and fiber crops, and landscape plants. Development of new and innovative ways to control plant diseases is a constant challenge for plant pathologists.

Effective disease management often varies from region to region due to differences in environment, soil type, cropping practices, and plant varieties.

In their work, plant pathologists cooperate with plant breeders and crop management, insect, and weed specialists in developing integrated, environmentally sound approaches to managing crops and their pests (including pathogens). Working together with other specialists, plant pathologists contribute to the production of a stronger economy, safer foodstuffs, a cleaner environment, conservation of soil and water resources, and the health of workers in farms, gardens, and landscapes. Plant pathologists and bioengineers also are cooperating closely in developing disease-resistant plant varieties, preserving food from spoilage, developing new strains of organisms for biological control, and even in developing composting processes for solid waste disposal.

Plant pathologists utilize modern scientific equipment and techniques to unravel the mysteries of how pathogens attack plants and to understand the effects of environmental conditions on disease development. Interactions between plants and their pathogens are studied at all levels of biological organization, from molecules to organisms to ecosystems.

Research laboratories are equipped with plant growth chambers where light and temperature can be controlled accurately, with scanning electron microscopes that provide three-dimensional images of pathogens on plant surfaces, with high-performance liquid chromatographs that provide rapid analysis of chemicals in diseased and healthy plants, and, of course, with computers for analyzing data. Techniques for nucleic acid hybridization and separation, plant tissue culture, serology, and other modern biotechnologies are utilized by many plant pathologists in their day-to-day activities.