Department of Agronomy

Department of Agronomy

Introduction
The vision of the Department of Agronomy is to improve and sustain crop productivity through research and extension education for poverty reduction of the rural people in the nation. The department of agronomy provides a high quality program in agronomic teaching, research and agricultural extension to enhence the crop productivity which will support the State’s economy.
The objectives of the department of Agronomy are:
1. To produce highly qualified professionals needed for the development of the agriculture sector of the country, who are well trained in leadership, planning and management, and
2. To provide safe and environmentally-sound agronomic practices for the sustainability of crop production by integration of teaching, research and extension.
In 1924 Burma Agronomy Department was founded under the Agricultural College and Research Institute in Mandalay. Nowadayas, it stands as one of the major departments of Yezin Agricultural University. There are 21 teaching staff in the Department, offering the undergrad, postgrad, and doctoral degree program, and a total of 98 Master degree holders and 8 Ph.D degree holders are produced from the Department until now. The main research which are conducted in this department are related with crop production, varietal selection, field crop physiology, crop nutrition, weed science, good agricultural practices, seed technology, post harvest technology, cultural practices and agricultural extension.

(1) Education

The Department of Agronomy offered the following courses for the undergraduate and postgraduate students during the second semester of 2016-2017 academic year.

The Department of Agronomy offered the following courses for the undergraduate and postgraduate students during the first semester of 2017-2018 academic year.

(2) Training

        The report of the Department of Agronomy on training activities by pratical class and field work of Second Year students of Under-graduate program during the Budget Year 2017-2018 is stated as follows.

2.1. Introduction

According to the guidance of the Union Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, the Union of Myanmar, the Yezin Agricultural University trained the Second Year students in crops cultivation both theoretically and practically. The Department of Agronomy assigned the Second Year students to grow and learn about the monsoon-rice cultivation by their selves on a field of six acres.

Moreover, as a practical field work, each Second Year student was individually assigned to learn in self-growing maize in concrete pot in order to promote theoretical learning. Third Year students were also assigned the practical field work by self-growing groundnut.

 2.2. Objectives

There were two main objectives of training the students as practical field work at the Department of Agronomy. They are:

(1) To be able the students to grow rice by their selves as it is a major crop and staple food in Myanmar, and

(2) To enable the students to self-perform the practices of growing the major crops: the cereal crop, maize and oilseed crop, groundnut undertatken from the time of land preparation up to the time of harvesting.

(3) Poster contest of the Third Year studens

3.1. Introduction

It is important to distribute the agricultural technologies and information to the hands of farmers in developing and promoting the agriculture-based economic sectors in Myanmar. Among the extension techniques, poster presentation is the most efficient one to understand and to apply the agricultural technologies for growers. For this reason, the Department of Agronomy trained the Third Year students to enable make a poster in the practical class, and organized to perform poster contest by the students giving a poster title related to agriculture during the academic year of 2017-2018.

3.2. Objectives

The objectives of the training and poster contest to Third year students are:

(1) to enable the students create a poster as a training for agricultural extension, and

(2) to be able the students to share and distribute the agricultural technologies and information through mass media.

3.3. Program of poster contest

(1) Title of poster        – “Climate is Changing, Food and Agriculture Must Too”

(2) Date                       – 26^th August 2017

(3) Venue                    – Gymnasium, Yezin Agricultural University

Photo record of field work practical on monsoon rice cultivation by Second Year students

Preparation of concrete pots to grow maize by Second Year students as field work practical	Growing maize in concrete pots individually by Second Year students
Land preparation for growing groundnut by Third Year students	Sowing the groundnut seeds

Awarding the best poster prize by the Professor and Head of the Department of Agronomy

The team of Third Year students awarding by the first prize in poster contest

First Prize Awarded