Department of Botany

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SAVE TREES TO SAVE LIFE

The plants are reservoirs of natural products. Indefinite natural products that they produce are useful to the human beings. In addition to the foodstuff, the plants are the resources for human requirement like medicines, paper, furniture, fabrics, etc. In other words, the plants fulfill all basic needs of human. Therefore, the study of plants is very significant for sustainable life. The visionaries of our institution realized the requirement of this peculiar subject. And hence the Department of Botany came into existence in our institution.

The Department of Botany is established in the year 1971 with the vision and efforts of Founder Head Honorable Principal Anirudh Jadhav. The main view behind the establishment was to prepare the students desirous of learning, understanding, teaching and practicing various aspects of Plant Science. It is one of the leading departments in the field of teaching and student activities. After autonomy, in keeping pace with the advances in various aspects of Plant Sciences, the department has introduced the courses like Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Plant Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Genetics, Plant Pathology, Instrumentation in Botany, Pharmacognosy, Gardening and Landscaping, Plant Breeding, Biostatistics, Plant nanotechnology, Forensic Botany, etc. The department has academic autonomy and has been revising its syllabi after every three years at UG level and two years at PG level. The department has successfully implemented the choice based credit system for grading the students. The department is known for curricular activities like teaching, learning and the results as well as co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. It is also known for strict implementation of rules and regulations formulated time to time by the college administration.

The department has undertaken the student’s projects in the areas of Plant Pathology, Genetics, Plant Biotechnology, Medicinal Plants, Aerobiology etc. The department runs M.Sc. Degree Course from 2017. The M.Sc. degree course is spread over four semesters. At present the students are admitted to M.Sc. degree course on the basis of their scores of the B.Sc. degree. The curriculum of B.Sc. and M.Sc. has been designed by taking into account the competitive examinations, NET, SET, GATE and IIT-JAAM examinations.

During the first year of M.Sc., the students are taught core courses in Botany. In the second year, besides the core courses, the students also carry out the projects. The examinations of B.Sc. and M.Sc. students are held as per the credit system rules laid down by the autonomous college. It involves continuous assessment that is internal assessment and semester end examination. The department regularly organizes the student's seminars.

The botanical excursions are regularly organized for experiential learning of the students, to study the wild plant diversity, forest ecosystem and to inculcate the research knowledge. The student’s association viz. 'Symbiosis' is very active in the department, through this association various events are organized for the students. The department has very successfully organized National Conference on 'Plant Pathology' on March 2013. Four students of the department are the winners of Parent University Gold Medal which is specified for the subject Botany. Seven students of the department are the University Merit Holders of Parent University.

The infra-structure of the department includes three laboratories, one museum, one departmental staff room. Research laboratory is recently recognized by Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded. The research laboratory is enriched with the plant tissue culture facilities and other advanced instruments. The research laboratory is the itself ‘State of Art’. Recently an innovative activity Seed Repository has been established in the department. The departmental library is one of the best libraries which provides open access facility to the students. The department is enriched with learning resources such as Charts, Museum Specimens, Slides, Models, Herbarium and modern facilities like Computers, Internet, LED Projector for advanced and independent learning. Well maintained Botanical Garden with diverse and endangered species is an asset to the department. Alumni of the department have spread over as Teachers, Professors, Scientists, Lawyers, Social Workers, Administrators etc. within the country and abroad.

Achievements of the Department and Departmental Faculty are:

❖ Organized International Seminar on Emerging Trends in Molecular Biology.
❖ Organized National Level Workshop on Bioinstrumentation.
❖ Organized National Workshop on Strategies to Crackdown Competitive Exams in Life Sciences.
❖ Prof. S.N. Shinde Honoured Shahu Bhushan Award by Shiv Chhatrapati Shikshan Sanstha, Latur
❖ Prof. S.N. Shinde received State Level Shikshak Ratna Award by Mahatma Phule Shikshak Parishad.
❖ Dr. K. D. Savant received Best NSS Program Officer Award by Government Maharashtra.
❖ Dr. K. D. Savant received Special Appreciation Award by District Collector Office, Latur.
❖ Dr. K. D. Savant received Special Appreciation Award by Police Department, District Latur.
❖ Mr. D. R. Awad qualified Maharashtra SET Examination in Life Sciences

Student Association

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