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Crop and Soil Sciences > Department Information > Locations and Facilities | |||||||||||
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Locations and FacilitiesThe Department Crop and Soil Sciences has faculty at three campuses located across Georgia. Faculty at the Athens (College Experiment Station), Griffin (Georgia Experiment Station) , and Tifton (Coastal Plain Experiment Station and Rural Development Center) campuses conduct the teaching, research, and public service functions for the department. Courses in the Crop and Soil Sciences Department provide fundamental and applied knowledge on plant growth, crop production, and environmental soil sciences. Areas of specialization include plant breeding and genetics, molecular biology, plant physiology, crop ecology, crop production and management, weed science, seed production technology, soil chemistry, soil genesis and classification, soil fertility, soil microbiology, soil physics, and environmental science. The dedicated faculty and excellent facilities at three campuses provide for a diverse and sound education for our students. The faculty pride themselves in providing unlimited and excellent advising for all students that enter the department. The graduating students enjoy a high rate of employment in a wide range of careers in addition to being prepared for a life-long learning experience that is necessary in a changing world. The graduates are prepared for continuing their education in graduate school, or for employment opportunities such as those found in fertilizer and lime industries, grain/seed processing, chemical companies, agricultural supplies and equipment distribution, agricultural consulting. Many graduates are employed as golf course superintendents, turfgrass and landscape managers, Natural Resources Conservation Service, state and federal agricultural research agencies, Cooperative Extension Service, agricultural and environmental regulatory services, and land-management consultants. The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences has excellent faculty and facilities at the Athens, Griffin, and Tifton campuses to conduct basic and applied research that is important to our clientele in the state of Georgia and that adds to the body of knowledge basic to agricultural production and environmental preservation throughout the world. The research in the department can be classed into six general areas: 1. Cultivar and Germplasm Development; 2. Crop Management and Physiology; Cultivar and germplasm development programs have been especially successful in recent years. Some of the recent cultivar releases that are associated with various commodities are 'Rebel' canola, 'Georgia King' cotton; 'Alfagraze' alfalfa; 'Georgia 5' tall fescue, 'Tifton 85' bermudagrass;'Tifton 9 bahiagrass'; Tifleaf 2' pearl millet; 'Georgia Mitchell' oats; 'Georgia Runner' and 'Georgia Green' peanut; 'Haskell' and 'Benning' soybean; 'Gore' and 'Roberts' wheat; and three pearl millet inbreds for grain, released to Gold Kist for hybrid production. A related program in crop variety testing provides direct information to farmers on performance of available crop varieties. Research in crop (including turfgrass) management and physiology varies from studies of the effect of environmental stresses to include inter- and intra- species competition on crop production. Management strategies are developed to improve crop production under the environmental stresses common to Georgia. Basic studies are conducted on identifying the mechanisms of stress tolerance in crops and on genetic mapping of stress tolerance genes. Weed management research programs are designed to develop efficient and environmentally safe strategies for managing weeds in the major crops in Georgia. Research has been conducted on herbicide mode(s) of action, selectivity, and application; weed biology, ecology, and physiology; and the environmental fate of applied herbicides. Soil fertility research has focused on many subjects including determination of appropriate fertilizer application rates, time and method of fertilizer application, and the relationship of soil test level to the need for fertilizer for promising new crops such as canola and pearl millet. Soil, water, and waste management research has dealt with water requirements for our major crops; irrigation scheduling and crop management; tillage research; and pesticide, nutrient, animal, and industrial waste dissipation in soils. The Environmental Bio-micrometeorology/Biophysics program of Crop and Soil Sciences deals with the exchange of gases between the vegetation, the soils and the atmosphere from an experimental and a modeling point of view. It is also concerned with the feedback between climatic changes and vegetation/ soils. It has a heavy emphasis on carbon cycling research and in atmospheric science near the vegetation and the soil. The State Extension Commodity Specialists in the department excel in transferring the unbiased information developed in the department research programs to the state clientele. This is accomplished through conferences, trade shows, public education seminars and short courses, and the county delivery system. The extension faculty work through interdisciplinary teams to offer complete information on all aspects of crop production. Excellent examples of good interdisciplinary program development and delivery are the Extension's nationally recognized turfgrass, cotton, and peanut teams. Links for the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences |
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