What is Horticulture? Scope and career opportunities

What is horticulture?

Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science and business of plant cultivation. This includes plants that are edible and ornamental. It also includes conservation of plants, restoration, landscape, design and construction.

Who is a horticulturist?

Horticulturists apply their skills, knowledge and technology to intensively produce plants for personal or social needs. The work of an horticulturist includes propagation of plants and cultivation. Their main aim is to improve plant growth, yield, nutritional value, quality and resistance to insects and diseases.

Horticulturists work as gardeners, growers, therapists, designers and technical advisors in sectors of horticulture.

What are the educational requirements to become a horticulturist?

One of the options is to pursue a bachelors degree in Horticulture or Agricultural science right after Class XII. To pursue this one needs to have a background in biology.

To pursue a Master's degree, one must complete graduation in the same or related fields of horticulture. There is also immense scope for research and development in this field, where one can obtain a Ph.D or even a post doctoral.

What is the scope of being a horticulturist?

Since agriculture is a basic need for humans, there is always a lot of scope in this field of study. With the advent of technology and developments that comes with it, there has been a wide variety of job opportunities in both public and private enterprises.

What are the career options in horticulture?

• Production and sales: Operating a business or managing cultivable land for catering plants and food processing

• Public Gardens: Managing landscapes and collecting plants is best for persons interested in both plants and people

• Marketing: Involves the sale of fresh or processed fruits and vegetables

• Research and development: Developing ways to improve the yield and quality of the plant produce

• Teaching: Teaching in schools and colleges and to all people who are open to learn new ideas of horticulture

• Agricultural engineering: This deals with the conservation of soil and water and farm structures

• Landscape design, construction and management: Creating gardens and knowing the appropriate plants to use to achieve the desired aesthetic effect

• Pest management: Working with the regulatory agencies, agricultural suppliers, processing corporations, large farm organisation as agricultural specialists

Top colleges/universities India for horticulture:

• Kerala Agricultural University

• University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore

• Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth

• University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwar

• Annamalai University

Top colleges/universities abroad for horticulture:

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA

• Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

• University College Dublin, Ireland

• Michigan State University, USA

• West Virginia University, USA