Behind the greens
Plant and Soil Sciences’ alumni, faculty and students get to work on the golf course
Protecting turfgrass from fungal foes
UD researchers report new understandings in how microbes protect plants
Community conservation
Alumnus Brian Griffiths supports Indigenous Peruvian Amazon community goals
Helping gardens and interns grow
UD Botanic Gardens' Andrew Adams: Curator of plants and students
DEPARTMENT OF PLANT AND SOIL SCIENCES
We have excellent teaching, research, and outreach programs in the areas of plant biology (cellular, genetics, genomics, microbial, molecular and physiology), agronomy (including pathology, soil management and weed science), horticulture (sustainable landscapes, fruits and vegetables), landscape architecture and environmental soil sciences (biogeochemistry, hydrology and plant-soil interactions). We have a distinguished faculty, known nationally and internationally for their research and outreach, and within UD for their excellence in teaching, advising and mentoring students.
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Featured video
Innovation at UD: Harsh Bais: youtube.com/watch?v=ZMsIF6rPcek
University of Delaware inventor Harsh Bais is a plant biologist, known for his research developing a beneficial bacterium that can help boost plant defenses, water retention and more. Here, Bais—who was named an Innovation Ambassador at UD earlier this year—shares some of what he’s learned about invention along the way.
Read the UDaily feature.
Latest news
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Global crops and drought
July 30, 2026 | Written by Adam Thomas | Illustration by Jeffrey C. ChaseA new study from the University of Delaware’s Kyle Davis examined production losses for 17 major crops accounting for three-quarters of the world’s food production and found that portions of the Midwestern United States, eastern Brazil, eastern Spain, and central and northern India were among the areas most sensitive to droughts. -
AI flower power
July 27, 2026 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photo illustration by Jeffrey C. ChaseYin Bao, University of Delaware assistant professor of digital agriculture, built a specialized AI tool called FLORIST to automatically analyze thousands of plant photos taken by everyday people, instead of manually sorting through 44,000 images. FLORIST efficiently filtered out the vast majority of photos that did not show active flowering, narrowing the dataset. Bao says the main takeaway is blending widespread public observations with deep genetic research gives a more complete understanding of how species evolve to survive in the wild. -
Phosphorus detective
July 16, 2026 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and courtesy of Deb JaisiPhosphorus gives plants their daily nutritional needs. But whatever phosphorus a plant can’t consume creeps into waterways and speeds up algae growth that can kill fish and aquatic plants. Fascinated by these properties, University of Delaware professor of Environmental Biogeochemistry Deb Jaisi has dedicated his academic career to exploring phosphorus and its presence in the environment. His innovative research has unlocked new ways to pinpoint where the phosphorus causing environmental damage is coming from.
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