Recently, the Ministry of Education announced the results of the third round of National First-Class Undergraduate Course recognition. The course General Plant Pathology, led by Professor Xiaoping Hu, has been selected as a National First-Class Offline Course. The teaching team includes Professor Guangyu Sun, Professor Gangming Zhan, Associate Professor Xiaofei Liang, and Associate Professor Yuxiang Li.

The development of the General Plant Pathology course at Northwest A&F University is outlined as follows:

1. Foundational Stage (1935–1970)In 1935, Academician Zhiyuan Tu established the Plant Pathology teaching group. From 1935 to 1949, Academician Tu and Professor Yunzhuang Wang successively taught Plant Pathology. In 1952, the course was restructured into General Plant Pathology and Agricultural Plant Pathology, laying a solid foundation for the development of plant pathology curricula across agricultural and forestry universities in China.

2. Sustained Development Stage (1970–2010)Between 1970 and 1975, the teaching group compiled Illustrated Fundamentals of Plant Pathology and Agricultural Plant Pathology, which filled a critical gap in plant pathology teaching materials in China at the time. In 1997, Professor Hongsheng Shang contributed to the nationally compiled textbook General Plant Pathology. In 2002, the team edited Principles of Plant Pathology and Experimental Techniques in Plant Pathology, both of which were selected as National “11th Five-Year Plan” textbooks and received the Outstanding Textbook Award from Agricultural Universities in China. In 2004, the course was designated as a Shaanxi Provincial Excellent Course.

3. Reform and Innovation Stage (2010–Present)In 2010, the Plant Pathology teaching team was recognized as a National Teaching Team. In 2012, the course was developed into a Shaanxi Provincial High-Quality Resource Sharing Course. In 2022, the team-edited General Plant Pathology and Experimental and Practical Guide for General Plant Pathology were selected as “13th Five-Year Plan” textbooks by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and were awarded National Outstanding Agricultural Education Textbooks. In the same year, the team was recognized as a “Huang Danian–style Teaching Team” in Chinese universities. In 2023, the course was designated as a Shaanxi Provincial Model Course for Ideological and Political Education.

This recognition highlights the long-standing academic legacy, continuous innovation, and significant contribution of Northwest A&F University to plant pathology education in China.