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The Faculty was open in 1929, but its history goes back to earlier time. By 1865, the year when the Petrovskaya Academy was open there already was a park with hothouses, orchard with a nursery, a vegetable garden, and ornamental plants nursery. A prominent scientist Robert I. Shreder originated training and research activities in horticulture that played an important role in the life of the Academy. |
In 1920 the Garden Division of the Academy was open. It comprised the Chairs of fruit growing, vegetable growing, vegetable seed growing, and processing of fruit and vegetables. In 1929 it was reorganized into Faculty of Horticulture, at present Faculty of Fruit and Vegetable Science.
Well-known scientists V.I.Edelshtein, P.G.Shitt, A.M.Negrul, S.I.Zhegalov, F.V.Tserevitinov, N.N.Timofeev, N.V.Saburov, S.T.Chizhov, V.A.Kolesnikov, M.T.Tarasenko, F.A.Devochkin, A.D.Alexandrov, E.P.Shirokov, K.V.Smirnov, T.I.Kalmikova, B.N.Anzin, K.P.Skuin, I.A.Prokhorov, S.P.Potapov, A.A.Chuvikova and many others made a great contribution to the training process and education provided at the Faculty. By their teaching and research activities the founders and their successor created strong scholastic traditions at the Faculty and Chairs.
A lot of work has been done in training and education of specialists for agro-industrial complex of the country by the Deans of the Faculty: A.A.Cherkasov, N.P.Rodnikov, G.I.Tarakanov, E.D.Korolkov, A.G.Reznichenko, I.A.Prokhorov, V.M.Tarasov, V.A.Komissarov, V.D.Mukhin, V.D.Polegaev, and A.V.Isachkin.
The leading faculty members are the authors of textbooks and practicum books on fruit growing, vegetable growing, selection and seed growing, ornamental gardening, medicinal plants and viticulture, which are widely used at agricultural colleges and universities of Russia.
The Faculty offers courses in the following three specialties:
- Horticulture and Viticulture with specialization in viticulture and processing of grapes, fruit growing, vegetable growing, protected vegetable growing, medicinal and volatile-oil bearing plants growing, and ornamental gardening.
- Selection and Genetics of Fruit and Vegetables with specialization in selection of vegetables; and selection of fruit
- Park-Gardening and Landscaping with specialization in landscape design, ornamental arboriculture, floriculture and lawn technologies.
Students specialized in the first two abovementioned specialties graduate with qualification of an agronomist, and those, who were trained in the specialty Park-Gardening and Landscaping are given the qualification of an engineer.
The Faculty provides different types of training, including full-time study, study by correspondence, and continuing education training. For graduates of technical schools and agricultural colleges the period of training is abridged.
Training process is provided by six Department Chairs, including Fruit Growing, Vegetable Growing, Viticulture and Wine Production, Selection and Seed Growing of Fruit, Vegetables and Ornamental Plants, Botany, and Ornamental Plant Husbandry.
The Faculty comprises several training and experimental stations and laboratories, including laboratories of fruit growing, vegetable growing, viticulture, floriculture, bio-physics and seed hydrophobization; the N.N.Timofeev Selection Station; Training-Research Center - V.I.Edelshtein Vegetable Station, the Rostovtsev Botanical Garden, and R.I.Shreder Dendrological Garden.
Faculty members include more than 100 professors, associate professors, senior teachers, assistants and research scientists who successfully provide a training process at six Chairs and eight training-research subdivisions of the Faculty.
The Faculty also provides postgraduate and a doctoral level training to prepare research and pedagogic personnel for agricultural research and educational institutions.
Faculty graduates successfully work in the production sector of economy, in research institutions, universities and colleges, as well as in administrative and managerial structures, and business organizations.
Training at the Faculty combines theoretical courses with a practicum in special laboratories and at the experimental stations. This is supported by the wide professional contacts with research institutions and production establishments.
The Faculty is proud of its scientific and pedagogical schools, which currently take the leading role in research and educational activities. The outstanding scientists V.I.Edelshtein, P.G.Shitt, A.M. Negrul, N.N.Timofeev and others were the founders of these schools.
The scientists of the Faculty are well know for their results in selection, development of biological basis of fruit, vegetable and vines growing, introduction of plants, and so on. Plant breeders such as G.I.Tarakanov, A.V.Kruchkov, G.F.Monahos, and D.V.Patsuria achieved the exceptional results in selection of vegetable crops. A.M.Negrul, V.I.Edelshtein, P.G.Shitt, V.V.Faustov, M.T.Tarasenko, E.G.Samoshenkov, K.V.Smirnov, and A.K.Radzhabov became the Laureates of State Prizes.