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Horticultural Science

Faculty
MSc Program
PhD Program
Interdepartmental Program
Courses

Disclaimer



Chair
Clarence J. Swanton (314 Crop Science, Ext. 3386)
(E-mail: cswanton@plant.uoguelph.ca)

Graduate co-ordinator
J. Alan Sullivan (4222 Bovey Building, Ext. 2792)
(E-mail: asullivan@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Graduate secretary
Jean G. Wolting (1105 Bovey Building, Ext. 6077/6158)
jwolting@plant.uoguelph.ca

Graduate Faculty

Theo Blom
BSc Wageningen, PhD Guelph - Associate Professor (tblom@uoguelph.ca)

Calvin Chong
BSc, MSc, PhD McGill - Professor (cchong@uoguelph.ca)

Chun-Lung (George) Chu
BSc National Chung-Hsing MSc Guelph PhD Washington State - Assistant Professor (gchu@uoguelph.ca)

Adam Dale
BSc PhD Sheffield - Professor (adale@uoguelph.ca)

Michael A. Dixon
BSc, MSc Mount Allison, PhD Edinburgh - Associate Professor (mdixon@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Helen K. Fisher
BSc, MSc Guelph, PhD Cornell - Associate Professor

Paul H. Goodwin
BS Villanova, MSc Minnesota, PhD California (Davis) - Adjunct Professor

Bernard Grodzinski
BSc Toronto, MSc, PhD York, MA Cambridge - Professor (bgrodzin@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Glen P. Lumis
BS Pennsylvania State, MS, PhD Michigan State - Professor (glumis@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Alan W. McKeown
BSc MSc Guelph, PhD Michigan - Associate Professor (amckeown@uoguelph.ca)

Dennis P. Murr
BA, MA California State, PhD California - Associate Professor (dmurr@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

John T.A. Proctor
BSc Reading, MS, PhD Cornell, FASHS, FAIC Hort - Professor (jproctor@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Danny L. Rinker
BSc Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, MEd Millersville Univ. of Pennsylvania, PhD Pennsylvania State - Associate Professor (drinker@uoguelph.ca)

Praveen K. Saxena
BSc Meerut, MSc Lucknow, PhD Delhi - Associate Professor (psaxena@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Barry J. Shelp
BSc, MSc Brock, PhD Queen's - Professor (bshelp@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Vincent I.L. Souza Machado
BSc Reading, MSc Makerere, PhD Guelph - Professor (vmachado@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

*Judith Strommer
BS, MS Chicago, PhD California - Associate Professor (jstrommer@uoguelph.ca)

J. Alan Sullivan
BSc, MSc, PhD Guelph - Associate Professor (asullivan@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

David J. Wolyn
BS Rutgers, MS, PhD Wisconsin - Associate Professor (dwolyn@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

*Joint appointment with Dept of Molecular Biology & Genetics
Associated Graduate Faculty
S. Tahir Ali-Khan
BSc, MSc Oklahoma, PhD Texas A&M - Adjunct Professor

Karin Arnold
MSc, PhD Johannes Gutenberg - Allied Signal Aerospace Canada

Kim Bolton
BSc, PhD Guelph - Assistant Professor, University of Toronto at Scarborough

Robert H. Bors
BSc Maryland, PhD Guelph - Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science, University of Saskatchewan

Alan W. Bown
BSc PhD Liverpool - Brock University

John Cline
BSc Guelph, MSc Michigan State PhD London - Research Scientist, University of Guelph

Jack L. Eggens
BSc Royal Military College, BSA Toronto, MSc, PhD Guelph - Professor Emeritus

K. Helen Fisher
BSc, MSc Guelph, PhD Cornell - Associate Professor, University of Toronto at Scarborough

Roberta Fulthorpe
BSc Carleton, MSc Toronto, PhD Carleton - Assistant Professor, University of Toronto at Scarborough

Geza Hrazdina
Dip. Ing. Agr., Dr. Sc. Techn. Zurich - Cornell University

Martin F. Jurgensen
BS, MS SUNY, PhD North Carolina State - Michigan Technological University

Albert Liptay
BSA, MSc Guelph, PhD McMaster - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

E.C. (Sam) Lougheed
BSA, MSA Toronto, PhD Michigan State, FASHS, FAIC - Professor Emeritus

Mary Ruth McDonald
BSc, MSc, PhD Guelph - Research Scientist, University of Guelph

Joseph Odumeru
BSc Western Ontario, MSc, PhD Manitoba - Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Douglas P. Ormrod
BSA British Columbia, PhD California - Adjunct Professor

M. James Tsujita
BSc Utah State, MSc Alberta, PhD Ohio State - Professor Emeritus

Special Graduate Faculty
Richard Cote
MSc Laval, PhD Guelph - Research Associate

Gregory J. Duns
BSc, MSc Waterloo, PhD McMaster - Professional Scientist, Laboratory Services Division, University of Guelph

Sankaran KrishnaRaj
BSc, MSc Tamil Nadu, PhD Calgary - Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate

A.G. Reynolds
BSc, MSc Guelph, PhD Cornell - Associate Professor, Brock University, Adjunct Professor, University of Guelph

Youbin Zheng
BSc, MSc Southwest Agriculture (China); PhD Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom)- Research Associate


     The MSc and PhD programs in Plant Agriculture (Horticultural Science Division) offer specialization in the fields of crop management and physiology, crop breeding and genetics and crop biotechnology. Crop management and physiology is adaptation of scientific principles to improve performance of horticultural crops in a number of different types of environment. Research areas include closed environment production systems, plant water relations, plant growth regulations, optimization of yield and quality and postharvest physiology and biochemistry, breeding methodology, germplasm development and phytoremediation. Crop breeding and genetics includes techniques to develop or improve germplasm using selection procedures and to develop an understanding of genes at the whole plant level. Students may also focus on plant propagation, breeding methods, and plant cell and tissue culture. Crop biotechnology emphasizes the use of molecular biology techniques such as transformation, RFLP and RAPD's to develop novel germplasm and study gene function.

MSc Program

     The Department of Plant Agriculture, (Horticultural and Crop Science Division) offers a MSc program in the fields of crop management and physiology, crop breeding and genetics and crop biotechnology. Students will conduct basic and/or applied research on topics within these fields.


Admission Requirements
     Applicants should have a baccalaureate degree in an honours program, or the equivalent, from a recognized university or college with an average academic standing of at least 'B' during the last two years of full-time study (or equivalent). To assist in identifying a suitable thesis adviser(s), applicants should submit a short statement of research interests. Supportive letters of reference are essential and should outline the applicant's strengths and weaknesses. Students may be admitted into the fall, winter or summer semesters. The University of Guelph requires that applicants from some foreign institutions have a MSc (or equivalent) degree before they are considered for admission to the University of Guelph's MSc program.

Degree Requirements
     A program of prescribed courses (at least 1.5 credits of 6000 level courses) and additional courses (if any) is established with the student's advisory committee. All MSc candidates must complete a thesis. Students are required to participate in the Seminar (HORT*6500) and in the Annual Poster Day sponsored by the Department. In addition, a thesis seminar will be presented in conjunction with the final oral examination and thesis defence. Students are encouraged to participate at in Departmental Colloquium courses.

PhD Program

     The Department of Plant Agriculture (Horticultural Science Division) offers a PhD program in the fields of crop management and physiology, crop breeding and genetics and crop biotechnology.


Admission Requirements
     The usual requirement for admission into the PhD program is a MSc degree by thesis in a field appropriate to their proposed area of specialization with a minimum 'B' average and supportive letters of reference. On rare occasions direct admission to the PhD program will be permitted to applicants holding an honours baccalaureate degree who have demonstrated extraordinary academic and research capabilities. It is also possible for a student to transfer from the MSc program without completing the requirements for that degree provided the student has an excellent academic record and has demonstrated a strong aptitude for research which can be expanded to the doctoral level.
Applicants should submit a statement of research interests, background experiences, and career goals to assist in the identification of a faculty adviser who has the resources necessary to support the thesis research. Students may be admitted into the fall, winter or spring semesters. In some instances (see MSc admission requirements) applicants who already hold an MSc may be required to initially register in the MSc program.)
Degree Requirements
     The major emphasis in the PhD program is on research and the preparation of an acceptable thesis. There are no specific course requirements except for the seminar. However, it is usual for most students, in consultation with their advisory committee, to select prescribed studies and additional courses in preparation for the qualifying examination and thesis research. The qualifying examination is in two parts (written and oral) and evaluates the student's knowledge of their field of specialization. The qualifying examination will be taken no later than the fifth semester or seventh semester if the student has transferred from the MSc program or has been admitted directly to the PhD program with only a BSc.In addition, the advisory committee is required to submit a written evaluation of the student's performance in research and the student's potential as a researcher. Upon completion of the qualifying examination, the student becomes a candidate for the PhD degree.
     Students are required to participate in the Seminar (HORT*6500). In addition, a thesis seminar will be presented in conjunction with the final oral examination and thesis defence. Students will participate at least once in the Annual Poster Day sponsored by the Department and are encouraged to participate in Departmental colloquia.The PhD program is completed by the submission and successful defence of an acceptable thesis.

Interdepartmental Programs

Toxicology MSc/PhD Collaborative Program
     The Department of Plant Agriculture participates in the MSc/PhD program in toxicology. Please consult the Toxicology listing for a detailed description of the MSc/PhD collaborative program.

Courses

Course/(Credit Value) Term Course Description
Horticultural Crop Production and Management
HORT*6220
Advanced Studies in Pomology(0.5)
   Discussion of current problems and research on fruit crop production and physiology.
Plant Physiology
HORT*6170
Postharvest Physiology (0.5)
   Discussion of the physiological effects of controlled and supplemental environments or treatments on horticultural crops. Emphasis is on current problems and research.
HORT*6480
Colloquium in the Environmental Physiology of Horticultural Plants (0.5)
   Discussion of current research in the areas of light, temperature, water and atmospheric composition effects on horticultural plants. Demonstration and discussion of recent advances in methodology.
HORT*6490
Colloquium in Physiology of Ornamental Crops (0.5)
   Current topics in the area of floriculture, turfgrass, and woody plant physiology.
Plant Breeding and Genetics
HORT*6290
Physiological Genetics of Higher Plants (0.5)
   A lecture and discussion course examining classical and molecular genetic investigations for understanding the genetic basis and regulation of physiological processes in plants.
General
HORT*6000
Projects in Horticultural Science (0.5)
   A directed field, laboratory, or library study of assigned problems. A student may not earn more than 1.0 credit in this course in one graduate degree program.
HORT*6050
Principles and Application of Plant Tissue Culture (0.5)
   The course involves lecture and discussions of fundamental and applied aspects of plant tissue culture. Topics will include the role of tissue culture in understanding plant development, physiology and genetics, and its commercial applications in horticulture and forestry.
HORT*6500
Seminar (0.25)
   All graduate students present a departmental seminar on their research proposal no later than the second semester. PhD students present an additional seminar on their thesis research before the end of the sixth semester (or the equivalent). Each student is expected to participate in the seminars of colleagues and faculty.

         



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