A. Horticulture

1. Horticulture comes from the Latin word meaning “garden cultivation”. 2. Horticulture is the cultivation, processing and marketing of flowers, ornamental plants, vegetables, fruits

and nuts. B. Divisions of Horticulture

1. Pomology is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing tree grown fruits.

2. Olericulture is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing vegetables.

3. Floriculture is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing flowering plants.

4. Landscape and nursery industry is the science and practice of propagating, growing, planting, maintaining, and using grasses, annuals, shrubs and trees.

5. Viticulture is the science and practice of growing, maintaining and processing grapes.

C. Horticulture Industry Careers 1. Greenhouse/nursery employee grows vegetables, fruits, flowers including cut flowers, bedding plants,

potted plants, hanging baskets and landscaping plants. Employees do both sexual and asexual plant propagation.

2. Garden center employee cares for plants, moves plants and supplies, arranges and displays plants and supplies, and sells plants and supplies.

3. Grounds maintenance employee cares for the land area and plants that surround a business, school, church, industry or other public or private places that have lawns and plants that have to be maintained (includes IPM).

4. Golf course employee is responsible for maintenance of golf courses including turf grass maintenance on fairways, greens, tees, etc. and pest management, irrigation and drainage, sand trap, trees and shrubs, buildings and equipment.

5. Park employee maintains plants, grounds, buildings, facilities, equipment and driveways in national, state, city or privately owned parks.

6. Inspectors check plants and materials for disease, insects and other quality issues. 7. There are also many careers in the field of agricultural biotechnology such as technician, researcher,

marketing specialist, and much more! 8. There are also career opportunities in working for USDA, EPA, and the FDA. 9. Sales positions in a variety of wholesale and retail areas. You can work for a seed company or a

wholesale grower 10. Green Industry employees work in jobs that are environmentally friendly and have to do with reusing,

recycling and reducing the carbon footprint.

D. Skill, Personal and Educational Qualifications 1. Skills vary from unskilled to highly skilled depending on the career in horticulture. A materials handler

needs few skills, but an inspector needs many skills to check for quality, for insects or diseases or for following governmental rules.

2. Personal interests and qualifications include: a. Working inside or outside or a combination. b. Working in a group or alone. c. Working with people or plants. d. Working at routine tasks or varying tasks. e. Physical strength to do the job.

E. Educational qualifications vary depending on the careers.

1. High school graduate or less for unskilled entry-level job. 2. Technical education for skilled jobs. 3. Bachelors, masters or doctoral degrees for most professional areas because of required licenses,

paper work, research and /or teaching.