Even though the current department structure is only a year old, teaching, research and service in the plant sciences has been part of South Dakota State University since it’s founding. The following is a brief outline of our history and how the Department of Plant Science came to have its current structure:
1886 – First course in “Practical Agriculture” marks the beginning of Agronomy instruction
1887 – Agriculture Experiment Station founded, initiation of crop research
Aldrich joins faculty starts Entomology instruction
1895 – N. E. Hansen joins faculty – starts Horticultural instruction
1897 – First departments formed, these include Geology-Agronomy and Horticulture-Forestry
1903 – Department of Agronomy Formed
1920 – Department of Entomology-Zoology formed
1940 – Buchholtz joins faculty and starts Plant Pathology
1947 – Department of Plant Pathology formed
1955 – Landscape Design option added to Horticulture-Forestry
1963 – Parks Management option added to Horticulture-Forestry
1967 – Department of Horticulture Forestry Landscape and Parks (HFLP) formed
1969 – Agronomy and Plant Pathology merge to form Department of Plant Science
1979 – Entomology joins Department of Plant Science
2011 – HFLP joins Department of Plant Science
2016 – Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science formed