Disciplinary, Institutional, Funding, and Demographic Trends in Plant Pathology: What Does the Future Hold for the Profession?

Gadoury, David M.; Andrews, John; Baumgartner, Kendra; Burr, Thomas J.; Kennelly, Megan M.; Lichens-Park, Ann; MacDonald, James; Savary, Serge; Scherm, H.; Tally, Allison; Wang, Guo‐Liang

doi:10.1094/pdis-93-12-1228

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Similar results were published by Derr (2004) in his survey of northeastern universities and by Kuhns and Harpster (1997) in their survey of selected institutions, who reported almost four and five times as many faculty teaching plant pathology and entomology courses, respectively, compared with faculty teaching weed science classes. The total number of plant pathologists was almost identical to that reported by Gadoury et al (2009), confirming the relative accuracy of our survey.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Forty-two land-grant institutions had no graduate students in weed science, with 37 having none in entomology and 40 having none in plant pathology. Gadoury et al (2009) reported 709 graduate students in plant pathology in 2007, higher than was observed in the current survey. There were five times as many undergraduate entomology courses and more than twice as many plant pathology courses as weed science classes across the land-grant institutions (Table 5).…”

Section: Lab Studies Total ------------------------------------------contrasting

confidence: 66%

“…Single departments devoted to entomology or plant pathology are common at U.S. universities. Gadoury et al (2009) reported 17 departments across the country devoted solely to plant pathology, with an additional 13 having plant pathology as part of the departmental name.…”

Section: Lab Studies Total ------------------------------------------mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Weed Science Research, Teaching, and Extension at Land-Grant Institutions in the United States and its Territories

Derr

Rana

2011

Weed technol.

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Weeds are one of the main limiting factors in crop production, causing billions of dollars in annual global losses through degraded agricultural and silvicultural productivity. Weeds also reduce access to land and water, impair aesthetics, and disrupt human activities and well-being. The number of positions devoted to weed science teaching, research, and extension at 76 land-grant institutions across the United States and its territories was determined and compared with that for plant pathology and entomology. The number of classes and graduate students in these disciplines at those institutions was also determined. There are more than four times as many entomologists and more than three times as many plant pathologists as weed scientists at land-grant institutions. There are approximately five times as many graduate students currently in entomology and almost three times as many in plant pathology compared with weed science. There are approximately five times as many entomology and two and a half times as many plant pathology undergraduate classes compared with weed science classes. These differences increase when graduate courses are considered. Most land-grant universities have either none or few graduate classes in weed science. There are more than six times as many graduate entomology courses and more than five times as many plant pathology courses compared with weed science graduate classes. There are no departments devoted solely to weed science, whereas entomology and plant pathology departments are both common. Most universities have little to no faculty assigned to ornamental, fruit, aquatic, or forestry weed control. Number of faculty assigned to vegetable, turf, non-crop, ecology, and basic/laboratory studies in weed science are also limited. Additional university resources are needed if weed science research, teaching, and extension efforts are to meet the priority needs for the management of weeds in the agricultural, natural resources, and urban ecosystems.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Lab Studies Total ------------------------------------------contrasting

confidence: 66%

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Weed Science Research, Teaching, and Extension at Land-Grant Institutions in the United States and its Territories

Derr

Rana

2011

Weed technol.

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“…Thus, the concern is not about differing jargons (16) or whether there should be two types of degrees (7), but rather it is about the continuing ability of plant pathology programs to prepare students for the mission of disease management, the raison d'être for the discipline of plant pathology. This concern becomes particularly acute when considered in light of the fact that plant pathology is rapidly approaching a period that will see many talented and experienced faculty members retire from universities over a relatively brief span of time (5). In many cases, the people lost from universities will be the very people best able to educate and mentor the broadly trained plant pathologists who employers perceive to be in shrinking supply.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Education in Plant Pathology: Present Status and Future Challenges

et al. 2009

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“…A perception among many plant pathologists today is that university departments preferentially filled faculty positions in molecular host-pathogen interactions at the expense of other sub-disciplines within applied and field-orientated plant pathology, such as nematology, epidemiology, forest pathology, disease management, etc. Gadoury et al (2009) provide a good discussion of this but conclude there is no evidence to suggest this occurred disproportionally beyond the initial creation of the core expertise. This also partially explains the dramatic increase in the number of articles published in MPMI during the early years of the journal and the leveling off seen in the last 7 years.…”

Section: Disciplinary Balance Within Departmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where will the next Norman Borlaug come from? A U.S. perspective of plant pathology education and research.

Martyn¹

2009

Plant Prot. Sci.

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Plant diseases can be traced back almost as far as recorded history. Numerous ancient writings describe plagues and blasts destroying crops and modern civilization still faces many plant disease challenges. Plant pathology has its roots in botany and notable scientists such as Tillet, Prevost, and deBary already had concluded microscopic organisms could cause plant diseases before Robert Koch established the rules of proof of pathogenicity with sheep anthrax. Plant pathologists can be credited with helping improve crop yields and food production throughout the world. However, at a time when there are increasing challenges to crop production, some that potentially may increase the severity or distribution of plant diseases, the training of future plant pathologists appears to be declining, at least in the United States. The ability of the U.S. Land Grant University (USLGU) system to attract and train future generations of plant pathologists may be at risk. Recent data from university plant pathology departments collected by The American Phytopathological Society (APS) documents a decline in the number of students completing advanced degrees in plant pathology, departments with fewer faculty with a diverse expertise in applied plant pathology, fewer stand-alone, single discipline departments of plant pathology, a reduced ability of many departments to offer specific curricular aspects of plant pathology, and a demographic profile that casts an ominous prediction for an unusually large number of faculty retirements over the next decade. The impact of these factors could be a shortage of highly skilled, applied plant pathologists in the U.S. in coming years. The affect also may be felt globally as fewer international students may receive predoctoral and post-doctoral training in plant pathology in the U.S. as faculty retire and are not replaced. On the other hand, this likely will create greater opportunities for universities around the world to take leadership in many aspects of plant pathology education. While a decline in students and young faculty trained in applied and field-level specialties of plant pathology (mycology, bacteriology, plant nematology, forest pathology, epidemiology, etc.) is occurring, those trained in the cellular and molecular host-pathogen interactions specialties appear to be increasing. Many plant pathology faculty hired at USLGUs in the last decade are trained in molecular biology and received their Ph.D. degree in a field other than plant pathology. They are now applying those skills to research numerous aspects of host-pathogen interactions of model pathosystems. A shift to a greater research emphasis on molecular host-pathogen interactions over the last decade is evidenced by the number of research articles published in the three APS journals; Plant Disease, Phytopathology and Molecular PlantMicrobe Interactions (MPMI). From 1985 to 2007, there has been a decline in the number of articles published in Plant Disease (-29%) and Phytopathology (-36%) and a steady increase in those publi...

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Disciplinary, Institutional, Funding, and Demographic Trends in Plant Pathology: What Does the Future Hold for the Profession?

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Weed Science Research, Teaching, and Extension at Land-Grant Institutions in the United States and its Territories

Weed Science Research, Teaching, and Extension at Land-Grant Institutions in the United States and its Territories

Education in Plant Pathology: Present Status and Future Challenges

Where will the next Norman Borlaug come from? A U.S. perspective of plant pathology education and research.

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