History of the Department of Fruit and Vegetable Crops.
The Department of Fruit and Vegetable Crops of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at Abu Rayhon Beruni Urgench State University was established in 2020 on the basis of the Department of Preservation and Processing of Agricultural Products of the Faculty of Bioengineering and Food Safety at Urgench State University. In accordance with the new structure of Urgench State University, the Department of Preservation and Processing of Agricultural Products of the Faculty of Bioengineering and Food Safety was renamed the Department of Fruit and Vegetable Crops of the Faculty of Bioengineering and Food Safety in August 2022. At its inception, the department consisted of three associate professors, one senior lecturer, and four faculty members, for a total of eight faculty members.
In the 2022 academic year, the department offered three specializations: "5411700 - Greenhouse Organization and Management," "5411000 - Fruit and Viticulture," and "5411600 - Vegetable Growing, Melon and Potato Growing." This academic year, 53 students (12 men and 41 women) were enrolled.
The head of the Fruit and Vegetable Growing Department, PhD S. Sadullaev, and the dean of the Faculty of Bioengineering and Food Safety, PhD J. Rozimov, jointly presented the research results at V.N. Tatishchev Astrakhan State University. To develop the educational sphere, they have launched joint educational and scientific projects and continue to work on the above-mentioned issues.
Since September 2023, the department has expanded from the Faculty of Bioengineering and Food Safety to the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, in line with the new structure of Urgench State University. This year, a new program, "60820100 – Forestry and Landscaping of Residential Areas," was also added. It currently enrolls 190 students (46 men and 144 women) in four programs, along with a number of part-time students.
In 2024-2025, significant progress was made in the Department of Fruit and Vegetable Growing. Specifically, the department now employs one doctor of science, four associate professors, one senior lecturer, and four lecturers, for a total of 10 lecturers. Furthermore, this year, the head of the Department of Fruit and Vegetable Growing, Sandzharbek Madiyarovich Sadullaev, received a patent for three melon varieties. A master's program in specialty 70811003—"Cultivation of Vegetables, Melons, and Potatoes"—was also launched, with six first-year students admitted.
Today, the department has all the necessary laboratory equipment and supplies for students and faculty, and has signed agreements with branches of regional research institutes, farms, and greenhouses cultivating crops using traditional and hydroponic methods for internships. These include the Khorezm Scientific Experimental Station, the Khorezm branch of the Research Institute of Plant Quarantine and Protection, Damkor Food LLC, and several other large enterprises.
The current head of the department is Sanjar Madiyarovich Sadullaev.
In the 2020-2025 academic year, 105 articles and dissertations by professors and instructors were published in our department: 30 in national journals, 15 in international journals, 21 in Scopus journals, 4 textbooks, 7 teaching methods, and 10 monographs. As a result of his research, the head of the Fruit and Vegetable Crops Department, PhD S. Sadullaev, who works in the Melon Growing Department, developed three melon varieties and received a patent for this variety as a breeding achievement. The head of the department, PhD S. Sadullaev, PhD in Chemistry, and other researchers in the department publish articles and teaching aids on the distribution, biology, and importance of plants in the cucurbitaceae, tomato, and melon families, as well as melon crops, and conduct scientific and practical seminars and training sessions on melon cultivation for students and agricultural workers.
