Department of Plant Pathology

The Department of Plant Pathology at the GKVK campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore is offering various courses to different undergraduate degree programmes and post graduate programmes leading to master and doctoral degrees Programmes. The department is offering advanced courses in biotechnology, Immunology and serology, physiological plant pathology, molecular Plant Pathology and advanced courses virology, bacteriology and nematology. The faculty comprises of experts in fields of virology, bacteriology, Nematology, seed pathology and fungal pathology. The department is conducting research both in basic and need based / problem oriented research pertaining to the various facets of plant pathogens/plant diseases, especially in the disease etiology, epidemiology, molecular diagnosis, identification of races /strains and mapping their prevalence in Karanataka and India, developing biochemical, molecular, and serological techniques for detection of seed born bacteria, ecology and development of sustainable/ integrated management practices with more comprises on biocontrol of plant pathogens apart from conducting field days to demonstrate the technologies developed by the Department.

The department has received funds and technical assistance from various international organizations such as Ford foundation, Rockfaller foundation, Pl.480 , UNDP/ICAR. The research grants are also received from the ICAR/ National Horticultural Board/National Horticultural mission and State Plan grants, and also from the private seed companies. The department has upgraded laboratory facilities in recent year with the funds provided by DST under FST programme. The department has developed well equipment plant bacteriology teaching and research laboratories, which is II nd of its kind in India. Further the department has started exclusive phytopathogenic bacterial culture collection center and supplying cultures to the research institutes/colleges. The department is also selling bio pesticides on commercial scales.