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College of Agronomy
College of Agronomy (Academy of Agricultural Sciences), integrating teaching，research and enterprise, was merged by 8 units in July, 2000. They are: the former Department of Agronomy, the Research Center of the Arid and Semi-arid Areas, Northwest Agricultural University; the National Wheat Improvement Center（Yangling Branch）; the Institute of Wheat Crops, Institute of Maize, Institute of Cotton and Institute of other Cash Crops of Shaanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences; the Key Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Breeding Engineering, Northwest Institute of Botany.
There is a staff of 252 in service currently, including 32 professors and senior researchers, 83 associate professors and junior researchers, 21 supervisors for doctoral students, 52 supervisors for master’s degree students. 22 of the them are scholars with overseas experiences. 17 experts won the national and provincial awards for outstanding contributions, 2 are supported by New Century Talents Program sponsored by Ministry of Education, and over ten people won supports from provincial “Three-Five Talent Project”.
At present, there are 5 teaching and research divisions in the College engaging in the following academic fields: genetics, crop breeding, plant resources and production, seed engineering, soil cultivation and ecology. There are 1 experimental center for teaching , 1 intramural practice base, 4 institutes dealing with the exploration of wheat, maize, cotton and other cash crops; 7 laboratories and research centers including the Agricultural Research Center of the Arid and Semi-Arid Area, the Yangling National Bio-tech Breeding Center, the National Wheat Improvement Center, Yangling Branch, the Key Laboratory of Water-saving Agricultural Research of the Arid Areas (Ministry of Agriculture), the Key Shaanxi Provincial Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Breeding, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Crop Cell Molecular Biology and Quality Improvement, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis Research and Utilization, and 2 academic journals of Journal of Northwest Agriculture and Journal of Wheat Crop".
As one of the colleges with the longest history and the biggest scale in Northwest A & F University, the College is authorized to grant Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy (the first-batch name brand program in Shaanxi Province), Plant Science and Technology, and Seed Science and Engineering. Among them, Crop Cultivation and Farming System, and Genetics and Breeding are deemed as the key disciplines in Shaanxi Province. It also offers a post-doctoral program on Crop Science and 6 doctoral and master’s programs on Crop Genetics and Breeding, Plant Resources, Seed Engineering, Agricultural Extension and on-the-job master's programs for teachers at high level colleges and intermediate level vocational schools.
During the past 70 some years, 13,423 students graduated from the college including 4 postdoctors, 71 doctors, 258 masters, 5,530 undergraduates and junior college students, and 7,560 adult education students, contributing a lot to China’s economic construction. Some of the outstanding representatives are Zhao Hongzhang, the renowned academician and wheat breeding expert, Professor Shen Yuqing, the founder of Agricultural Zoning in China, Lu Ming, the former Vice Minister of Ministry of Agriculture, Zhu Jingzhi, the former vice governor of Shaanxi Province. Currently there are totally 1,133 students, including 876 undergraduates, 198 master’s students, 59 doctoral students, and 2,400 registered students of adult education.
The college has obtained great achievements in research and sci-tech popularization. In the field of crop breeding and varieties extension , experts led by renowned academicians Zhao Hongzhang and Li Zhensheng have bred more than 60 improved wheat varieties, which have been extended to a total area of 1.8 billion mu. Since the founding of P. R. China, of the six wheat varieties upgrading in Shaanxi Province, the leading varieties are all bred by the college, of the six wheat varieties upgradings in the Yellow and Huaihe River Valleys, the varieties bred by the college were selected four times. The wheat varieties of Bima-1, Fengchan-3, Aifeng-3 etc developed by Academician Zhao Hongzhang and his co-workers, were leading the wheat variety breeding in China at that time and became a milestone in the history of Chinese wheat breeding, and won the Science Award in the First National Science and Technology Conference. Among these wheat varieties, Bima-1 still ranks first in China and second in the world in planting areas. The variety, Xiaoyan -6, bred by academician Li Zhensheng by the distant crossing created a new way in wheat breeding, and won the first prize of the National Technology Invention and Agricultural Science Award of Chen Jiageng. And the variety “Shaan- 7859” bred by researcher Ning Kun won the first prize of State Sci-technological Progress Award.
Since 2001 , more than 747 research projects at different levels have been carried out in the college, including 6 items of “Project 973 (National Key Projects for Basic Researches of China ) ” , 30 items of “Project 863 ( National High-Tech Programmes of China)”, 33 items of the National Major Science and Technology Program during “the Tenth Five-Year Plan”, 21 items of the National Natural Science and Technology Foundation Projects and 657 other items. The total research funds amount to 87.97 million yuan, with an annual average amount 14.66 million yuan. 32 research projects have been awarded including 8 national awards, 24 ministerial or provincial awards, 19 items have been patented, and 50 books and 968 academic papers have been published.
The college has been in close contact with renowned institutions both at home and abroad. In recent years, more than 30 experts and professors have been to the United States, Japan, UK, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, New Zealand and other countries for collaborative research, and have invited more than 19 experts from home and abroad for academic exchanges. Significant progresses have been made in international cooperation, keeping pace with latest academic development, introducing the advanced teaching and research concepts and technology and enhancing the academic reputation and influence of the college.
Now the college is actively strengthening the development of disciplinary intersections between biotechnology, information technology, agricultural engineering technology and traditional disciplines to enhance the traditional subjects. Meanwhile, the college would promote the construction of new subjects and specialties, and make research its orientation for running the college. It sticks to undergraduate education and would vigorously develop post-graduate education. In the future, we will take the excellent tradition of our predecessors, cherish the opportunity of “Project 985” and “211” construction, take “solidarity, seeking of truth, innovation, dedication” as exhortation, and work innovatively and diligently to build an international renowned college.