Oort en het onderwijs

Summary When Oort took the chair of plant pathology in 1949 his teaching included virology and nematology in addition of fungal and bacterial diseases. In 1950 a chair of plant virology was founded while in 1956 a lecturer in plant nematology was added to the chair of phytopathology. Only then could Oort concentrate on fungal diseases. Oort closely followed the turbulent evolution of phytopathology and, though he surveyed a wide field, he did not hesitate to invite staff members to teach special courses. In recent years junior students had to follow courses in Introductory Plant Pathology, General Plant Pathology, Morphology and Taxonomy of Fungi, and in addition a practical course in symptom analysis and morbid anatomy. For advanced students seminars were organized, each concentrating on one topic, e.g. Resistance or Soil Borne Diseases. Moreover, the advanced students had to follow a practical course in phytopathological and pathophysiological techniques. Specialized practical courses on Epidemiology and Resistance and Physiology of parasitism were started recently. The students usually did for 3 or 6 months research work under the guidance of a staff member. A research report and a literature review on a chosen topic were obligatory for all advanced students. Oort's keen interest in teaching aids led to the accumulation of a large slide collection which contained hundreds of colour slides of disease symptoms, and to a collection of diseased plants in permanent mounts. In nearly 20 years Oort accepted and discussed over 300 research reports, about 225 literature reviews, 21 doctor's theses and examined over 700 students.