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he Graduate Program in Agronomy (PPGA for its spelling in Portuguese) started its activities in 1973 under the title of Graduate Program in Temperate Fruit Crops. It was later joined by the Graduate Programs in Plant Breeding and Plant Production, leading to the establishment of the Graduate Program in Agronomy, in 1985.
This Graduate Program gave rise to several others, such as Seed Science and Technology, Plant Health, Family Farming Production Systems and Conservation and Management of Soil and Water. Currently, the two main fields of study in the Master’s and Doctoral Degrees are those of Plant Breeding and Temperate Fruit Crops.
Over the years, the Graduate Program in Agronomy has contributed to the training of professionals to work in public and private companies. The area of concentration in fruit farming focuses on the growing of peach, apple and pear trees, highlighting the ecophysiology and management of those crops. Research work in plant tissue culture and the development of new technology-based growing techniques is also carried out.

On the other hand, the area of concentration in Plant Breeding focuses on the cultivation of rice, oat, wheat, potato, peach, native fruits, pumpkin, and pepper. The studies carried out focus on the issues of germplasm characterization, genotype selection, and genome and transcriptome initiatives. The work developed also shows a strong interaction between biotechnology and plant breeding tools. Responses to abiotic stress – especially when resulting from soil factors – are characterized through the use of genotyping and phenotyping methods.