Welcome to the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. With expertise ranging from ecosystems services and disease management, to plant breeding, genomics, and food safety, we provide leadership and deliver programs that are internationally recognized and respected and have impact at local, national, and international levels. To provide this leadership, we work in an interdisciplinary and collaborative manner to effectively address complex problems and emerging threats that challenge food production and security. Above all, we value our missions of teaching, extension/outreach, research, international, service, and stewardship. We are home to 70 faculty, 100 graduate students, 86 post-docs and staff members, and 200 undergraduate and certificate students. For more information see our mission statement.
News
-
MSU’s Shade Receives NSF Award to Research Rare Soil Microorganisms
Published on June 11, 2018
Ashley Shade has received an $800,000 National Science Foundation grant, jointly awarded by NSF’s Population and Community Ecology and Ecosystems Studies Clusters in the Division of Environmental Biology.
-
John Boyse, Nancy Creed given Jack Breslin Distinguished Staff Award
Published on May 10, 2018
Two staffers from CANR were recognized as distinguished staff members for their contributions to Michigan State University.
-
New MSU research to explore the basis of immunity
Published on April 30, 2018
A new research project by Michigan State University scientists will probe the mechanisms that drive disease and immunity at the cellular level, work which stands to revolutionize our understanding of why plants and animals, including humans, get sick.
-
Farmers, environment, and carbon markets to profit from more precise fertilizer management
Published on April 25, 2018
Michigan State University scientists together with scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico have been researching the effects of nitrogen fertilizer on greenhouse gases.
-
Promoting agricultural innovation: US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visits MSU to meet faculty, students
Published on April 3, 2018
As the inaugural destination of his third “Back to Our Roots” tour around the country, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited Michigan State University Tuesday, April 3.
Meet a Faculty Member
Professor Linda Hanson knew for a long time she wanted to work with plants, but during a mycology course Hanson soon became enthralled with fungi.
Hanson’s work primarily revolves around how pathogens affect field crops, with some work on the interaction with different disease management strategies and vegetables.
Currently, Hanson is researching fungal pathogens of field crops. “I am interested in the diversity of fungal pathogens and how fungal diversity affects disease and crop management, including interactions with host diversity, crop rotation, and other management practices,” Hanson said.
Throughout her career, two research projects stand out to Hanson as her best work. Hanson found mechanisms of biological control in biocontrol-active fungi. This research opened a new area of research for fungi as biocontrol agents and has been cited over 150 times. To learn more about Dr. Hanson click here.
Featured Undergraduate Student
Read about Justine Fisher in our Featured Undergraduate Students Section.
