Professor Valentyna Kalytka Department of Crop Production and Horticulture is one of the leading departments of the university and the degree-granting department for specialities 201 Agronomy and 203 Horticulture and Viticulture, where more than 300 students study.
Since 2022, the department has employed 16 candidates of sciences, associate professors, senior teachers and assistants, who teach more than 60 disciplines for students of higher education under various educational programs.
Every year, teachers publish more than 40 educational and methodological works, manuals and textbooks.
Students are offered a wide range of practice bases at agricultural enterprises in the region, where they can not only acquire the necessary practical skills, but also demonstrate their knowledge to employers for further employment.
By combining the theoretical part of training at the university with the practical part at the workplace of the enterprise, students of the specialities Agronomy and Horticulture and Viticulture have the opportunity to study under dual training system.
Since 2019, a new advanced master’s program Ahrokebety has been launched, which was created in cooperation with business and educational institutions. Among the numerous partners of this project are Corteva Agriscience, МHP, New Holland, IMMER Group, Agroprosperis, IMC, Bayer, Cygnet, Hals Agro, Kernel, LNZ Group, Agrain, Limagrain Ukraine, HORSCH, AgroHub, SmartFarming , Arzinger, PwC, etc.
The teachers of the department also train students for the profession Fruit and Vegetable Grower.
Laboratory and practical classes are held in equipped specialized educational laboratories, a computer classroom. Educational multimedia and computer equipment are effectively used in the educational process. Acquisition of practical skills is carried out during practical classes in the experimental field, greenhouses of the department, experimental garden, nursery, and vineyard.
Reference literature is available to students in the scientific library of TSATU; repository, on the educational portal, in the methodical study of the department.
To improve the quality of education of future specialists, subject Olympiads, student scientific-practical conferences, seminars with the involvement of employers are held every year by the department, which promotes the realization of students’ creative abilities.
Scientific research at the department is carried out using three subprograms of the Agrotechnology and Ecology Faculty Research Institute, related to the development of intensive technologies for the cultivation of grain and leguminous crops, the production of fruit and vegetable products and their primary post-harvest processing. The works of the department’s employees are published in journals indexed in the scientometric databases Scopus, Web of Science.
Scientists of the department cooperate with scientific and industrial institutions. Close contacts have been established with the representative offices of the companies Sinhenta, Dupont, Stoller Ukraine, Ukrsylikat, Siemenis, horticultural farms Ahroliuks, Melitopol Cherry, Bleksy Fruit.
The department has an accredited laboratory for monitoring the quality of soils and plant products.
Employees of the department initiated the creation of the organic farming centre Tavria-organic.
More than 10 student research groups function at the department. The result of their work is presented by numerous reports at scientific conferences, participation in competitions and scholarship programs.
The teachers of the department systematically participate in scientific conferences of various levels, scientific and practical seminars, round tables, have numerous publications in specialized publications of Ukraine, are active participants in the UHBDP fruit and vegetable business development project and USAID AGRO grant programs, scientific supervision of the works of students of the members of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Teachers of the department systematically undergo internships and advanced training in educational and scientific institutions, enterprises of Ukraine and abroad.
The department also conducts the 1st stage of the All-Ukrainian Student Olympiad in such academic disciplines as Soil Science, Agro-chemistry, Farming, Crop Production and Fodder Production, Plant Protection, Seed Science and Standardization, Agro-meteorology and Agroecology, Fruit Growing, Vegetable Growing, Botany and Chemistry.
The department trained higher education students who became winners and prize-winners of the II stage of the All-Ukrainian Olympiad in the speciality 201 Agronomy and 203 Horticulture and Viticulture, prize-winners of the All-Ukrainian and regional contests of student scientific work.
The department establishes international relations with European universities: Pomeranian Academy in Slupsk (Poland), Plovdiv University (Bulgaria); is involved in international projects of the Senior Expert Service.
The development of the department is aimed at improving the quality of educational services by introducing innovative teaching methods, didactic techniques, through systematization and unification of methodical support of the educational process at the department, implementation of scientific achievements in the educational process and production, the establishment of close cooperation ties with other scientific institutions and production farms, to improve the material and technical equipment of educational and research laboratories.