INTRODUCTION

The Department came into existence in the year 1990. Ever since the Department has made rapid strides in both teaching and research, and has made its presence felt at the national and international levels. Though the mandate of the Department is to promote science and technology in all fields of study, special emphasis is laid on the themes of Natural Plant Products, Phytochemistry, Plant Tissue Culture, Biodiversity Evaluation, Environmental Protection and Plant Growth Regulation

COURSES OF STUDY

The Department offers programmes of studies leading to the award of degrees at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.

• M.Sc. Botany
• M.Sc. Environmental Sciences
• Ph.D. Botany
• Ph.D. Environmental Sciences

      The courses of study for various classes are designed to develop objective and analytical capability of the students. Special emphasis is laid on broad based interdisciplinary courses such as computer applications, mathematical biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology and biotechnology etc. Each student has to deliver seminars and take up training in an industry/ research institution. Case studies, status reports, project reports and field study tours are compulsory components of various programmes.

FACILITIES

Ever since the establishment of the Department, a number of facilities for teaching and research have been developed.

Major Equipments: Gel Documentation System, Inverted Microscope, Rotary Vacuum Evaporator, Scanning Spectrophotometer, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, PCR-Thermocycler, ELISA Reader, UV-visible Spectrophotometer, Fluorescent Microscope, Cryochille and GC-MS System etc.

Computer Labs: With financial assistance from the UGC and DST-FIST, two computer labs, consisting of 20 systems have been set up. These labs cater to the needs of students as the courses of study include a fair component of mathematical biology, biostatistics and computer application in biology. Besides this, the department has an Internet lab which is routinely used for keeping in touch with the latest developments in science and technology.

Photography Lab: This lab is equipped with field camera, an enlarger, a photomicroscope and other gadgets for indoor photography. The students are exposed to the basics of photography as a part of their practical training.

Herbarium: The Department has a rich herbarium with nearly 7000 accessions covering 2500 species from different climatic zones all over the country. Apart from dried specimens, the herbarium has a rich collection of preserved specimens for all the plant groups.

GNDU Botanical Garden: The Department maintains a rich botanical garden which has more than 500 species planted over it. The garden is spread over an area of 25 acres and is a member of Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, Surrey, UK. The Garden has been divided into classic sections following Benthem & Hooker's System of classification. The entire garden is fetched. It has tiled paths, mercury lamps, beautiful central vista with decoration lights on sides, an open-Air ecoeduactive auditorium, al lily pool, a fern house, rooftop water harvesting system & a herbal garden.

Herbal Garden: Spread over an area of approx 2 acres Herbal Garden harvasts more than 50 types of medicinal herbs, shrubs & trees. The garden has grilled-fence & hexagonal tiles to more around.

Poly House, Screen House and Net House: These special purpose houses established in the garden are used for hardening and aphid free conditions.

Glass House: The glass house of the botanical garden is equipped with facilities for fogging, misting and air conditioning systems for the maintenance of ferns, orchids, succulents, high altitude and tissue culture plants etc. An annexie has been developed for plant tissue culture studies.

Outreach activities: Acting on the firm conviction that research should not remain confined to the labs, we have programmes of eco-education, vermicomposting, seed testing etc.

Vermitechnology Unit: Two vermitechnology units consisting of 3 to 4 beds (size 6' x 3' ) under a thatched roof shed (area 14' x 26') open from all sides and erected on pillars made up of bricks and cement, and cage, had been established in the Botanical Garden with the aim to biologically manage the vegetable and other organic waste of Guru Nanak Dev University campus into a marketable value added product-vermicompost. These units were used to spread awareness among public and train & guide the local students, farmers etc. for eco friendly employment generation activities. Research students (Ph.D and M.Phil.) are also working on research problems related to industrial waste management for vermicomposting & its utilization in plant growth.