- In India the B.Sc (Hons.) Horticulture is now a four-year, eight-semester degree, revised under ICAR's Sixth Deans' Committee Report of 2024
- Horticultural education and research are overseen by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and its institutes such as ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru
- Abroad, Wageningen University and Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences remain leading centres for horticulture and plant sciences.
What Is Horticulture and What Do Horticulturists Do?
Horticulture is the science and art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, medicinal plants, flowers and ornamental trees. A horticulturist applies this knowledge to improve plant growth, crop yield, nutritional value and resistance to pests and diseases, while breeding newer plant varieties. Practitioners work as gardeners, growers, designers, technical advisors and horticultural therapists.
Horticulture covers a wide range of cultivated plants, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs and medicinal plants, mushrooms, flowers, ornamental trees, algae and other non-food crops. Beyond simply growing plants, a horticulturist may specialise in plant nutrition, crop protection, or the breeding of new, higher-yielding and disease-resistant varieties.
Best Countries to Study Abroad for Indian StudentsRead →What Is the Scope of Horticulture?
The scope of horticulture is vast and growing. It encompasses floriculture, the cultivation of flowering plants used as raw material in the perfume and cosmetics industries; pomology, which focuses on fruit and nut cultivation; olericulture, the growing of vegetables; and ornamental horticulture, which produces decorative plants and flowers for landscaping and design.
Pomology deals with fruit cultivation to improve fruit quality, regulate production periods and reduce production costs, covering the planting, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing of fruit and nut crops. Olericulture is the branch concerned with growing vegetables, while ornamental horticulture focuses on decorative plants and flowers for decoration and landscaping.
Which Career Profiles Are Available for a Horticulturist?
Horticulturists can work across many profiles, including public garden management and landscaping, plant collection, crop production and sales, and marketing of fresh or processed fruits and vegetables. Other roles cover plant pathology, pest and soil-fertility management, landscape design, nursery staffing, horticulture inspection, teaching, plant-care work, and a wide array of government jobs.
- Public garden management, landscaping and plant collection
- Production and sales, including managing cultivable land for crops or food processing
- Marketing and sale of processed or fresh fruits and vegetables
- Development and improvement of plant and crop yield and quality
- Teaching and professing horticulture
- Agricultural engineering and soil-fertility management
- Landscape designing
- Plant pathologist
- Plant-care worker
- Pest management
- An array of government jobs
- Nursery staffer
- Horticulture inspector
Which Courses Can You Pursue in Horticulture?
Undergraduate options in horticulture include the four-year B.Sc (Hons.) Horticulture and the B.Tech, followed by postgraduate M.Sc and doctoral Ph.D programmes for specialisation and research. In India these courses are offered by state agricultural universities and ICAR institutes, covering floriculture, pomology, olericulture, plant breeding, crop protection and post-harvest technology.
The four-year, eight-semester B.Sc (Hons.) Horticulture in India was revised under ICAR's Sixth Deans' Committee Report of 2024, with admission through entrance tests such as CUET (ICAR-UG). Graduates can advance to M.Sc and Ph.D programmes to specialise in areas such as fruit science, vegetable science, floriculture or post-harvest management.
Which Are the Best Horticulture Colleges in India?
India offers strong horticulture education through its state agricultural universities and ICAR institutes. Well-regarded options include Anand Agricultural University, Annamalai University, Assam Agricultural University, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Kerala Agricultural University's College of Horticulture at Thrissur, and ICAR's specialised horticulture institutes at Bengaluru, Lucknow and Srinagar.
- Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat
- Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu
- Assam Agricultural University
- Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttar Pradesh
- Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru
- Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow
- Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar
- College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, Thrissur (Kerala Agricultural University)
Which Are the Top Universities for Horticulture Abroad?
Several leading universities abroad offer horticulture and plant-science programmes. Top choices include Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, UC Davis, the University of Queensland, Ghent University, Aarhus University, and major US land-grant schools such as Texas A&M, Michigan State, Ohio State and the University of Florida.
- Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
- Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, USA
- University of California, Davis (CA&ES), USA
- Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (USP), Brazil
- Ghent University, Belgium
- Aarhus University, Denmark
- University of Queensland, Australia
- Texas A&M University, USA
- Michigan State University, USA
- The University of Florida, USA
- Ohio State University, USA
- Washington State University, USA