About the Department
The Department of Agronomy is one of the founding departments of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, established almost 75 years ago. The department offers field-crop programs from bachelor's to doctoral level, focusing on advanced principles, knowledge, and research in economic crops such as rice, maize, cassava, oil palm, sugarcane, rubber, energy crops, and legumes. Research and curricula incorporate modern technology and knowledge to enhance production efficiency through study and experimentation in plant breeding, crop physiology and production, weed science, seed science and post-harvest technology, as well as agricultural meteorology — aligned with food and energy demand.
For plant breeding programs, the Department of Agronomy has continuously developed and released new varieties of major economic crops over many decades. For example, the Suwan 1 maize variety serves as the genetic base used by Thai hybrid-maize breeders to produce hybrid varieties — a key driver of the country's animal-feed and seed industries. Suwan 1 also adapts well across diverse environments in over 20 countries worldwide, with cumulative value through 2014 of about 10,415 million baht. The Kasetsart 50 cassava variety has been the most widely planted cassava in Thailand and Southeast Asia for the past 20 years, with cumulative value through 2014 of about 48,891 million baht. Researchers have won numerous global awards including the Golden Cassava Award 2016 from the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century. The Huai Bong 60 and Huai Bong 80 cassava varieties — together with Kasetsart 50 — cover roughly 50% of Thailand's cassava planting area. Thailand has been the world's top exporter of mungbean seed, with the Kamphaeng Saen 1 and 2 varieties being most popular among Thai farmers; Kamphaeng Saen 2 currently covers over 40% of the country's mungbean planting area. The department is also Thailand's sole partner in the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project (IRGSP) and contributed to the discovery of the aroma gene in Khao Dawk Mali 105 jasmine rice. It has laid the foundation for research on high-nutrition rice varieties, releasing at least 7 varieties to farmers and consumers — including Riceberry, Sin Lek, Hom Chonlasit, Pin Kaset 4, Hom Mali 4, Thanyasirin sticky rice, and Hom Mali 80 — with notable publications in world-class journals.
Another source of pride is that our graduates have become leaders in administration and education in both public and private sectors — from Privy Councillors, Director-Generals, and directors of centers/institutes, to senior executives of leading agricultural companies in Thailand and across Asia. Graduates of the Department of Agronomy play a key role in driving and developing the agricultural sector of Thailand and Southeast Asia.