Program Overview

Plant Pathology is the study of plant diseases caused by pathogens and environmental factors; it involves study in mycology, bacteriology, nematology, virology, disease physiology and biochemistry, molecular biology of host-parasite relationships, etiology, ecology and epidemiology of plant diseases, disease resistance, and integrated disease management using cultural, chemical, biological and and biotechnological approaches. Because of its broad mission, the Department of Plant Pathology has strong interrelationships with all other plant- and biology-oriented departments and commodity groups within the state and nationally and internationally. The mission of the department reflects the strategic goals of Washington State University by advancing knowledge of plant pathology through creative research and scholarship, by extending that knowledge worldwide through the training of graduate students, and by applying the knowledge to protect the quality and quantity of the local and global food supply.