THE STATUS OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES: THE NUMBER, INTERESTS AND RATE OF TRAINING OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGISTS

Considerationis of the status of plant physiology in the United States have been hampered by the fact that information is not available concerning the number of plant physiologists active in the field at the present time. Information on the current rate of preparation of qualified plant physiologists on the professional level has also been lacking. This report concerns an attempt made by the committee on Professional Status and Training of the American Society of Plant Physiologists to gain some insight into both of these questions. Incident to the obtaining of this data it proved possible to obtain other information also. It has long been recognized in a qualitative way that the great bulk of the work in plant physiology is carried on in the name of horticulture, agronomy, and other phases of plant science. A quantitative estimate of the number of plant physiologists working in plant physiology but carried out under these varied formal designations has now been obtained. The quantitative distribution of workers in the varied aspects of plant physiology has also been investigated.