plant protection

A brief introduction of the Plant Protection Department/ Agriculture College/University of Kerbala

First and foremost, praise be to God, lord of the worlds, and prayer and peace be upon Muhammad and his family, the kind and the pure.

The members of the department council and I have the pleasure to welcome you to the website of the Plant Protection Department at the Agriculture College / University of Kerbala, hoping to provide you with an adequate definition of the department and its areas of work and its latest developments. The Department of Plant Protection has been established since the establishment of the Agriculture College / University of Kerbala in 2005. The department began receiving dear students in the academic year of 2005-2006. Thus, the first batch of students who graduated was in the year 2008-2009. They were the first group of agricultural engineers with a specialization of plant protection who were able to contribute to solving agricultural and environmental problems in our society. The graduates of the Department have demonstrated high efficiency and outstanding success in their work.

Subsequently, in light of the college’s vision to create a generation of scientific staff and researchers capable of solving all problems related to agricultural production. Postgraduate studies were established at the Plant Protection Department in the academic year of 2012-2013 to grant a master’s degree in the fields of plant protection (plant pathology, entomology).

An elite group of faculty members who are in different disciplines of agricultural sciences including plant diseases, insects, pesticides, agricultural mites in addition to some supportive disciplines such as chemistry, mechanical engineering, etc. is employed in the department. Those members graduated from indigenous and international universities and they teach for the bachelor and master’s levels in addition to conducting scientific research related to solving the problems of the agricultural sector.

Additionally, the department provides its services to the community through courses, seminars and training programs, whether for the government or private sector, in addition to serving the community members in defining and diagnosing plant pests and diseases and determining the best methods of control.

The Department of Plant Protection includes several administrative and research units represented in many administrative committees and research and teaching laboratories that achieve the department’s mission in research, teaching and community service in its fields (entomology and plant pathology).

The department also aims to reach a better agricultural environment, which leads to increase agricultural production, raise its quality and ensure its safety, to contribute to achieving food security. We all hope that the scientific march of the department will evolve in a way that achieves progress for our dear homeland with the assistance of God Almighty.

The domains of plant protection department:

    The plant protection field is considered one of the most important agricultural scopes, as it includes insects sciences (entomology), plant pathology, pesticides and pest control.

  • The scope of insects sciences deals with the study of the biology, physiology, morphology and environment of various insects, as well as the study of insect pests that affect field crops, orchards, vegetables and ornamental trees. It also studies the insects of medicinal and veterinary importance in addition to those attack stored grain and woody trees. Furthermore, the department gives special importance to the field of biological control and beekeeping.
  • The scope of plant diseases deals with studying the causal agents of plant diseases whether they are fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, and others that affect field crops, orchards, fruit trees, vegetables and ornamental plants. Moreover, it investigates their pathogenicity and interaction with the host plants in order to determine the best strategy for managing these plant diseases.
  • Pesticide science is one of the areas of plant protection that is concerned with the control of agricultural pests (insects, mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and weeds). The science of pesticides also deals with examination the biological evaluation of pesticides and pest resistance to their action in addition to their toxicity on pests and other organisms. It also evaluates and develops special programs for integrated pest management of all types of pests.

The objectives of the Plant Protection Department:

  • Distributing knowledge among the society’s classes about the importance of the safety of agricultural products, such as their lack of plant diseases, chemical pesticide residues, etc.
  • Carrying out scientific research to develop the agricultural sector, solve its problems especially finding alternative solutions to the application of chemical pesticides.
  • Developing agricultural awareness and agricultural workers and disseminating recent information to obtain the best agricultural products.
  • Cooperating with other government agencies such as research centres and the directorates of agriculture in order to exchange experiences and knowledge and learn about the latest developments in the field of agriculture and plant protection.

The mission of the Plant Protection Department:

The department’s mission is to apply modern and high educational systems to create a generation of agricultural engineers and researchers who are capable of solving all problems related to agricultural production. Thus is through conducting scientific researches that develop the scientific and practical level of staff specialization in the domain of plant protection.

The vision of Plant Protection Department:

The Plant Protection Department of the Agriculture College/ University of Kerbala is looking for being the best in learning and conducting scientific research and providing valuable scientific advice and consultations that contribute to raising crops to the highest levels and protecting them from the numerous pests that threaten them for the benefit of society.

We hope that everyone who visits this site finds the benefit he/she wants and that it will be a way to highlight the services, research and studies of the department.

Assistant Prof. Dr. Ali Abdul Hussein Karim

Head of the Plant Protection Department