What is Horticulture
Candidates who are interested in plants, agriculture and technology must opt for horticulture science. For those who are unaware about horticulture science, it is the plant science that incorporates science and aesthetics of plants. The course, horticulture science is the science and art of producing edible vegetables, flowers, fruits, herbs, and ornamental plants, improving and commercializing them.
To make it more clear, Horticulture is a sub-part of agriculture which deals with the development of intensively cultivated food and decorative/ornamental plants. Science and art are used extensively in the development and distribution of crops, mainly vegetables, for consumption by masses. The horticulture crops are diverse; they include vegetables, fruits, decorative plants, etc.
In India, there are primarily two courses available, namely Bachelor in Science in Horticulture and a Diploma in Horticulture. Both the courses are undergraduate courses in Horticulture where B.Sc is of 3-year duration and Diploma is of 2 years. During the courses, students learn and work on cultivation and propagation of different crops scientifically. Read on, to know in more detail about horticulture science course, its scope, how to apply for it and more.
Eligibility Criteria (UG & PG) of Horticulture
Eligibility Criteria for Horticulture Science
For Horticulture Science Undergraduate Course
Students who seek admission in any one of the Undergraduate courses should have passed 10+2 with a minimum of 50% in aggregate.
Also, students must have had Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in 10+2. Diploma courses can be done either after 10th or 10+2 level. The minimum age limit for this is 17 years.
For Horticulture Science Post-Graduate Course
Students must have completed any of the UG degrees with a minimum of 60% marks in aggregate. Some of the postgraduate courses also have an interview round after a screening process.
Entrance Exam for Horticulture Science
JEE Main- JEE Main is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) twice every year. Around 5 lakh students enrol for this national level entrance exam to get admission in different colleges in India and abroad. Candidates must have qualified 10+2 from any recognized board to be eligible for this exam.
Scope of Horticulture in India and Abroad
The scope of horticulture science is immense in both government and private sectors. Every year, new vacancies roll out for officer posts in different state-level offices. These posts are offered in various agricultural departments, state-wise forestry departments, and at different boards like spice, coir etc.
The private sector has also shown interest in this field as many startups have been found in recent times. These companies mainly focus on teaching the farmer about the easy ways of farming and producing crops efficiently.
The industries include private plantation companies, agriculture machinery, equipment manufacturing firms, agricultural product marketing firms, food production, etc. Horticulture science graduates must keep in mind that the scope in this field is immense both in the manufacturing and servicing sectors.
Pursuing a B.Sc degree in horticulture can highly increase the chances of getting a stable job. Another possible way can be doing an MBA after the course is complete and applying the knowledge and founding a startup. There is a gap in this industry that can be easily filled, and one can become successful. Agri-entrepreneurs are in great demand nowadays.
Course Fees Horticulture
|
Minimum Fees |
Maximum Fees |
|
Private |
Government |
Private |
Government |
| UG |
5.71 K
B.Voc. in Horticulture at Sant Ramdas Arts Commerce and Science College, Ghansawangi
|
16.00 K
B.Sc. in Horticulture at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur
|
8.24 Lakhs
B.Sc. in Horticulture at Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore
|
4.23 Lakhs
B.Sc.(Hons) in Horticulture at Naini Agricultural Institute, Allahabad
|
| PG |
7.24 K
M.Sc. in Horticulture at Janta College, Bakewar
|
5.18 K
P.G.D in Horticulture at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
|
4.02 Lakhs
M.Sc. in Horticulture at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
|
4.44 Lakhs
B.E /B.Tech in Horticulture at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
|
| DOCTORAL |
38.66 K
Ph.D in Horticulture at SKN College of Agriculture, Jobner
|
20.80 K
Ph.D in Horticulture at Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner
|
4.10 Lakhs
Ph.D in Horticulture at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
|
1.09 Lakhs
Ph.D in Horticulture at Dr YSR Horticultural University, Venkataramannagudem
|
| DIPLOMA |
12.60 K
Diploma in Horticulture at Shri Shivaji Science College, Amravati
|
3.16 K
Diploma in Horticulture at Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh
|
1.35 Lakhs
Diploma in Horticulture at Madhav University, Sirohi
|
1.16 Lakhs
M.Sc. in Horticulture at Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur
|
Course Subjects
There are 5 courses involved in Horticulture. And one of the undergraduate or postgraduate courses covers the syllabus of the other. So, with that in mind, let’s see the syllabus of B.Tech and M.Sc.
B.Tech
1st Year
- Primer on Horticulture
- Physical Education
- Commercial Floriculture
- Fundamentals of Information Technology
- Applied Mathematics
- Crop Physiology
- Commercial tropical fruit culture
- Nursery Technology of Horticultural Crops
- Commercial tropical vegetable culture
- Principles of Analytical Chemistry
- Principles of Genetics and methods of plant breeding in horticultural crops
- Agricultural Microbiology
- Fundamentals of Agricultural Meteorology
- Principles of Agricultural Economics
- English for Effective Communication
2nd Year
- Commercial temperate vegetable culture
- Forest Resource Management
- Renewable Energy
- Commercial Sub Tropical and Temperate Fruit Culture
- Commercial Production of Spices
- Fundamentals of Soil Science
- Fundamentals of Entomology
- Industrial visit I
- Principles of Plant pathology
- Principles of Biotechnology
- Principles of Seed Production
- Seed production technology of horticultural crop
- Livestock and Poultry Production Management
- Fundamentals of Agribusiness Management
- Farm Power and Machinery
- Applied Statistics
- Fundamentals of Soil
- Surveying and Engineering drawing
- Applied Microbiology
- Weed and Water Management in Horticultural crops
3rd Year
- Ornamental Gardening
- Establishment of Horticultural Estates
- Protected and Precision Horticulture
- Interior scaping
- Hi-Tech Crop Production
- Post-Harvest Technology of Fruits, Vegetables and Spices
- Industrial visit II
- Experiential learning
- Commercial Production of Medicinal and Aromatic crops
- Fundamentals of Nanotechnology
- Applied Plant Biotechnology
- Soft skills for career development
- Waste Management in Horticulture Industry
- Agricultural Marketing
- Pest Management in Horticulture Production Systems
- Nematode Management in Horticultural crops
- Production Economics
- Greenhouse construction
- Principles of processing
4th Year
- Horticultural Industrial Work Experience
- Diseases of horticultural crops
- Experiential learning
- Industry and Institutional Educational Tour
- Post-harvest technology
- Project Work
M.Sc.
1st year
- Systematic Horticulture
- Plant Propagation
- Landscaping and Dry fruit
- Ornamental Gardening
- Agriculture Statistics
- Tropical and Subtropical Fruits
- Design of Experiments
- Orchard Management
- Production Technology of cut loose flowers
- Protected Cultivation of Horticulture Crops
Year 2nd
- Spices and Plantation Crops
- Production technology of vegetable crops
- Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops
- Breeding of Horticulture crops
- Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
- Computer application in Agriculture
- Floriculture and Landscaping
- Breeding of Horticultural crops
- Seminar
M.Sc in horticulture science also has some of the elective courses. You can check for them when you apply for college. These two courses (B.Tech and M.Sc in Horticulture science) comprise of all the basic subject layout of other courses in the article.
Careers in Horticulture
There are ample job opportunities present in the horticulture science field. Jobs are available in both government and private sectors. Graduates can go on to become officers in government offices either in technical or non-technical staff.
There is a good demand for designers and contractors in the Horticulture industry. These designers are responsible for developing seeds, fertilizers and other products related to the Horticulture industry. A horticulturist can also choose his career as a Professor in any of the institutes.
The work areas in this field can be fieldwork, sales and marketing, irrigation department, Projects, training etc. Salaries are directly derived based on how much experience one holds.
There is an immense demand for Indian origin graduates abroad in the Horticulture Industry.
Job Profiles and Top Recruiters
Horticulture science: Job Profile and Top Recruiters
Horticulture science has gained some popularity in the past decade in India. This resulted in the opening of new job options in India. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular jobs available in India.
Job Profiles | Description |
Horticulturist | A Horticulturist is responsible for cultivation, propagation, and aim to improve the yield of the crops. The crops are intensively produced plants for human consumption; food and non-food plants. They can work as a therapist, gardener, grower, technical advisors etc. |
Technical Assistant | Technical Assistants are found in every field. They are responsible for the management and keep data. Some specific duties involve supporting other professionals in their work and analyzing the data to produce relevant results. |
Horticulture Specialist | These professionals are specific to the work field. They are experts in their field of work. They attain this after years of study and experience. |
Plantation Manager | Plantation manager keeps an eye over the plantation facility and prepares plans for cultivation and growing of crops. They gain experience over some time. |
Agronomist | Agronomists are known as crop scientists; their duty is to improve food processing and growth by using specific scientific techniques and technology. |
Horticulture science: Recruiters
Apart from these top 5 job profiles, there are also many other job options. Recruiters hire students based on their merit list from colleges. Let’s take a look at the top 5 recruiters for horticulture science graduates or postgraduates in India.
Shorb Landscaping
Casa Verde Growers
IIFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd
Sun Valley Landscaping
Interior Planrscapes
Required Skillset for Horticulture
Before beginning with the horticulture science course, candidates should possess some of the prerequisites. These skills are required so that one can pursue the course easily and gain maximum knowledge. Some of the skills are listed below:
Excellent management skills
Ability to organize everything systematically
Project management skills
Ability to work in a team
Financial awareness
Business awareness and management skills
These skills may seem very unnoticeable, but they are very much required to develop advanced skills that will be taught in the course. The student must also be very eager to study and learn new things. Horticulture science also requires patience as a trait, candidates must keep a check on that.
Course Curriculum for Horticulture
Horticulture science course is related to cultivation and production of different crops on a small scale. Therefore, the course shows students a way of doing this efficiently in small spaces. The crops are grown with precise instruments and techniques. Hence the students must have proper knowledge about what they are going to do.
The curriculum is divided into many different subjects (we will the subject break up later) which help students to develop holistically. Horticulture science course starts from the basics of horticulture and goes to advanced levels accordingly.
Students learn about topics like the science of soil, genetics, microbiology, water management, type of fruits, entomology etc. For B.Sc students, the course is divided into 6 semesters, and for Diploma it is 4 semesters, so, there will be a difference in the knowledge acquired by students over time.
Popular Horticulture Entrance Exams in India
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Application Process: 16 Oct, 2020 - 31 Oct, 2020
Exam Date: 16 Oct, 2020 - 31 Oct, 2020
Popular Horticulture Colleges in India
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Questions related to Horticulture
Showing 106 out of 106 Questions
10 Views
can i do msc agriculture after bsc horticulture??
Hello Nikhita!
Hope you are doing well!
well to answer your question, after B.Sc Horticuture one can pursue Masters in a specialized branch of agriculture. Agriculture in itself consist of various subjects in which one can pursue masters. Since you are a graduate from B.SC Horticulture, yes you can pursue M.sc in other branches of agriculture . Some of them are
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M.Phil. (Horticulture)
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M.Sc. (Agriculture - Water Management)
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M.Sc. (Agriculture Horticulture)
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M.Sc. (Genetics and Plant Breeding)
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M.Sc. (Horticulture- Fruit Production and Post Harvest Technology)
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M.Sc. (Horticulture-Floriculture and Land Scalping)
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M.Sc. (Horticulture-Vegetable Science)
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M.Sc. (Plant Protection)
7 Views
Mam/sir agricultural or horticulture which is best
Hello,
Horticulture deals with growing and cultivation of plants that include medicinal plants, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, non-food crops such as grass and ornamental trees etc..
Wheras agriculture deals with the cultivation of plant as well as animal farming..
It's better to choose what field you would like to work in the future. As both of them have different career prospective.
Hope it answers you.
Courses Similar to Horticulture
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