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
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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.
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CANR offers new STEM-FEE Scholars Program through NSF grant
Published on March 15, 2018
Eligible students can apply to the CANR STEM-FEE Scholars Program by March 31 for up to $25,000 in scholarships per student
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MSU research build new tools to combat plant disease
Published on February 26, 2018
A new research project will empower growers to make better decisions by giving them cutting-edge tools to diagnose and track the spread of crop diseases on their farms.
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Contributing to clean energy needs through cellulosic biofuels
Published on February 22, 2018
Researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center are investigating the possibilities of sustainable biofuels, which are hoped to be a step toward cleaner energy, especially for transportation.
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Understanding, preventing transport of plant pathogens in water
Published on February 22, 2018
Researchers Mary Hausbeck and Wei Zhang are developing water-recycling technologies that filter out pathogens in greenhouse systems.
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.
