The Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in Plant Health in Sustainable Cropping Systems is a 2-year programme that offers to its participants the unique opportunity to study plant health in an international setting at two of Europe’s leading institutions in this field, obtaining a double diploma.
It combines highly specialised training, prestigious international lecturers, field trips and other practical learning. It aims at training young, bright minded and internationally active students, so that they can contribute to the development of their home countries through their agricultural expertise and passion.
- Educating young professionals in basic and advanced aspects of plant health management in a diversity of crop production systems and various regional/climatic situations following principles of sustainability.
- Exposing students and scholars to the different realities of crop production systems and available environmentally friendly means of crop protection according to regional specificities.
- Diagnose and identify plant health problems
- Analyse the causes of these problems and evaluate their environmental, economic and social consequences
- Conceive technically adapted, economically viable, socially acceptable, health and environment benign solutions, meeting the requirements of sustainable cropping systems
- Apply research methods, instruments and tools appropriately
- Use their knowledge and skills in a wide range of agricultural contexts and transfer the scientific advances to a wide range of projects and actors at international level.
- Understand plant pests and pathogens, the risks they pose and the ways how these risks can be managed, both on a practical and scientific level
- Know and apply the international regulatory framework for plant health
PLANTHEALTH universities
PlantHealth – Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in PLANT HEALTH IN SUSTAINABLE CROPPING SYSTEMS is organised by a consortium of five Universities from four European countries:
- L’Institut Agro (France)
- AgroParis Tech (France)
- University of Göttingen (Germany)
- University of Padova (Italy)
- Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain)
These Universities are highly proficient and experienced in teaching courses on general and specific aspects of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In addition, all partners have an excellent reputation in research on various fundamental and applied aspects in plant health management, and keep strong links with companies of the plant protection sector and research institutes in Europe.
Universitat Politècnica de València is the co-ordinating institution of the PlantHealth Consortium.
ERASMUS MUNDUS quality label
PlantHealth has been labelled Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree by the European Commission and is therefore recognised as European education programme of excellence in the field of Plant Health.
Plant health nowadays
Plant health management is a key subject of global development with regard to food safety, food security and environmental preservation.
With the increasing globalization and climate change new diseases and pests threatening agricultural production will occur and have to be tackled. In many parts of the world, plant protection products are not used according to advanced regulatory and safety standards. A key issue is the need to take into account the population dynamics of pests, pathogens or weeds in the context of the whole agro-ecosystem, including beneficials, and their impact on the cropping system.
The development of safe crop protection methods requires the education of highly skilled professionals for crop protection management in a sustainable agriculture, in the developed countries as well as in the developing world. This is the core mission of the Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in Plant Health in sustainable cropping systems.
Innovative approach
PlantHealth represents an innovation in its interdisciplinary focus, giving clear priority to complex research areas and global policy issues. A distinctive and important feature of the Consortium is the emphasis on applied research, and on teaching which is applicable in plant health management.
PlantHealth provides students with an attractive programme, which shall allow them to develop the ability to see plant health in a broad context with a focus on sustainability, taking into account all relevant agronomic factors, like plant variety, nutrition, soil tillage, crop rotation, etc.
Students will obtain the skills and knowledge of advanced mycology, virology, entomology, nematology and weed science, to efficiently analyse or diagnose biotic and/or abiotic constraints in productivity of Sustainable Cropping Systems.