Students select courses from a variety of subjects, giving them a broad-based background in plant and soil sciences. This breadth of training makes students competitive for a variety of employment opportunities, especially those requiring knowledge in a number of areas. Floriculture prepares students for careers in private industry, state and federal agencies, and public gardens and conservatories. The curriculum focuses on the production, marketing, and utilization of bedding plants, herbaceous perennials, flowering potted plants, cut flowers, and foliage plants. Students are taught plant identification, greenhouse management, production and scheduling of floricultural crops, and integrated pest management.
Students gain hands-on experience in growing plants in the department's greenhouses.
Fruit Production focuses on the commercial production of apples, with stone fruits, small fruits, and berries also studied. Our orchard serves as a living laboratory where students learn pruning, variety identification, and general management practices. Our faculty have a history of leadership in pomological studies of growth regulators in fruit production and in controlled-atmosphere storage of fruit. Ornamental Horticulture prepares students for careers in the production and care of landscape plants. Students study woody plant production, tree and shrub identification, and plant propagation.