Plant Nutrition and Protection

Cultivated Plants for the Future The major "Plant Nutrition and Protection" in the Master's programme "Crop Sciences" focuses on understanding crops in their growing systems and developing agricultural systems that are high-yielding as well as ecologically sustainable. Adaptation of agricultural systems to climate change, changing environments, and any kind of stress are key challenges for society. This degree programme is designed to produce experts who will provide solutions to future needs. The goal of the “Plant Nutrition and Protection” major is to increase the efficiency of culture crops and cultivation systems to convert light and additional resources to increase their use as food, feed and bio-based products. Objectives Graduates will be able to develop independent approaches to address the changing issues of modern plant production systems. Their broad understanding stretches from basic biology to physiology and ecology as well as bio-informatics and expert systems. They have acquired the ability to apply analytical and scientific knowledge of plant biology and production at the individual plant level, and they have learned to think in terms of managing an agroecosystem. Through excursions, exercises, and seminars, students have gained experience needed to apply their scientific knowledge to real-world situations. Graduates will be able to apply scientific methods, communicate their knowledge across disciplinary and cultural boundaries, and lead or coordinate teams in a variety of professional settings. Occupational fields Graduates develop skills in critical and solution-oriented thinking and are well-prepared for current research questions in plant physiology, plant nutrition and protection, and biometric evaluation techniques. Employers of graduates are private companies and public institutions, either in Germany or abroad. Examples of potential fields of employment include: Public and private research centres Agroindustry Crop production Chemical-pharmaceutical industry Service and consulting companies Non-governmental organisations The major "Plant Nutrition and Protection" in the Master's programme "Crop Sciences" qualifies students for starting a doctoral programme, assuming their final grade is above average.