Department of Plant Pathology

Department of Plant Pathology, Yezin Agricultural University

 1. Introduction
The Department of Plant Pathology has strong research, teaching and extension outreach programs that cover basic and applied aspects of plant pathology, plant-microbe interactions and plant health management. We are ready to provide the knowledge to ensure plant health wherever it is threatened. Our department is the home for top notch graduate education- not only in plant pathology, but also in a wide field ranging from sustainable agriculture to toxicology to genetics and molecular biology-related majors.

The major objectives concern the scientific training of professional phytopathologists. Emphasis is placed on the fundamental and practical concepts associated with plant health and disease, physiology of parasitism, host-parasite relationships, genetics of host resistance, genetics of pathogen variation and variability, genetics of host-pathogen-hyperparasite populations, epidemiology of plant diseases, nematology, virology, phytotherapeutics and clinical phytopathology. In addition, our department offers courses about mass production of mushroom and biofertilizers using beneficial microbes.

2. Activities during 2017-2018 Budget Year

2.1. Educational activities

For second semester of 2016-2017 Academic Year, the department has been offered plant pathology subjects related with graduate, post-graduate students. The straw mushroom cultivation course has been taught by the department for fourth year students who chose the plant pathology specialization and second year students. During the course, all of the students were exposed to both theory and practical sessions.

Moreover, second year and third year students have been conducted the screening of resistant varieties and fungicides for leaf spot diseases of groundnut under management of our department during 2017-2018 Budget Year.

Photos of Second Year Students Participating in Activities Between 2017 and 2018 Budget Year

Diagnosis of plant disease using microscope	Inoculating Colletotrichum musae, causal organism of banana anthracnose on healthy banana	Banana Anthracnose Symptoms	Isolating Colletotrichum musae
Cultivating straw mushroom	Preparing seedbed for growing mushroom	Watering	Emerging sparrow-egg sized straw mushroom

Photos of Third Year Students Participating in Activities between 2017 and 2018 Budget Year

Collection of Disease Specimens	Collection of Disease Specimens	Activities in practical class	Activities in practical class
Land preparation	Planting the seed	Surveying the diseases in the field	Surveying the diseases in the field

Photo Records for Straw Mushroom Cultivation by Fourth Year Students

Preparation and growing

Observing the emerged straw mushroom

2.2. Training
The department held “Rhizobiology Training Course” from 26.6.2017 to 10.7.2017 arranged under collaboration between Yezin Agricultural University (YAU), The Crawford Fund, and Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). There are 20 delegates in this training who came from Department of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Research and Department of Plant Pathology. The department also organized the training by inviting retired professors. On 14^th March 2018, Sayar Gyi U Thein Su delivered the lecture at our department for upgrading the ability of staffs who are teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate classes.

Photo Records throughout Rhizobiology Training course

Preparing for isolation of rhizobium bacteria	Preparing for isolation of rhizobium bacteria	Counting bacterial cell on artificial media	Identifying morphology of rhizobium bacteria by staining method
Preparing mass production of rhizobium inoculant	Preparing mass production of rhizobium inoculant

Photos of Staff Participating in “Upgrading Teaching Staffs’ ability” Training

Preparing for isolation of rhizobium bacteria

Preparing for isolation of rhizobium bacteria

List of staffs and post-graduate students who attended Workshops and Training during 2017-2018