Why horticulture is important

Horticulture is important because it entails producing fruits, vegetables & ornamentals plants that generate employment, provide livelihood & earn valuable foreign exchange through exports.

India is a hugely populated where the average per capita land availability is 0.16 hectares & will further slide down to 0.08 hectares by 2035.

This means the income of Indian farmer will further plummet because of reduced arable land.

This requires competent horticulturists that trains on the latest techniques vital for augmenting farmer’s income.

India is predominantly vegetarian, where most consume vegetables in their diet.

Further marginal farmers can augment their incomes by growing horticulture products because their per hectare production is much higher than food grains.

Most vegetables mature earlier than food grains for sale, thus safeguarding them against adverse climatic conditions.

They can grow on non-arable, rocky, stony, marshy, undulated and sloppy land, allowing reduced cost for the farmer.

Majority of the land mass in the country is non-arable & sloppy where horticultural produce grows well, thus providing employment to the inhabitants.

The demand for fruits & vegetables is pushing the need for horticulture scientists who nurture their high yielding varieties. Vegetables & fruits are rich in vitamins & supplement fibers in our diet.

Besides, most urbanites lead a sedentary lifestyle, leading to chronic gastric problems. Doctors advise them to include vegetables & fruits in their diet because they provide fibers for cleansing the gut.

Horticulture is important because it supplements income by growing fruits, vegetables & ornamental plants that are readily sold in the market.

Potato, & Onion are the base food because all consume them regularly.

A horticulturist employs the best techniques to earn a bumper harvest for fruits, vegetables, ornamental & medicinal plants because they are vital for us.

India is the second largest exporter of fruits & vegetables because our climatic conditions foster seasonal fruits & vegetables.

Horticulture is important for augmenting farmer’s income

If the apple is the cash crop in J&K & HP, then Mango is in UP, Bihar and many southern states because their climatic conditions foster growth.

Nowadays people are health conscious & include fruits in their diet because they provide vitamins to the body.

Career Prospects

Horticulture is important because it nurtures medicinal plants that provide raw materials for herbal medicines.

The growing popularity of Ayurveda products is spiking the demand for horticulturists because they are experts in nurturing medicinal plants.

Landscaper/Landscaping Architect: Rapid urbanization is depleting the already scare open spaces in cities.

Municipal corporations hire horticulturists to enrich parks, & gardens with ornamental plants so that visitors enjoy their time & value greenery.

Garden Manager: Most clubs hire them as managers because they beautify gardens with plants & flowers, attracting visitors.

Golf Course Architect/Superintendent: A B.Sc in Horticulture from VGI Meerut can fetch you a job of a Golf course architect because they design grounds for playing golf. Further, we hire them to maintain courses because they can grow turf grass.

Play Ground supervisors: Sport associations hire them to maintain optimal turf grass because well maintained playgrounds foster sports attracting enormous crowds. They can lease a well-maintained playground, thus earning hefty rent for the association.

Florist: They hire horticulturists as Florists because they breed floral plants for the market. At every city crossing, we see flower vendors selling bouquets because we use flowers in marriages, temples, social functions & schools.

In fact, there is a trend of presenting flower bouquets to dignitaries as they are fresh & welcome guests.

Nursery Manager: A qualified horticulturist can establish his/her own nursery selling all kinds of plants.

With rapid urbanization leading to the scarcity of green spaces, people decorate their homes with plants that cleanse air & give a soothing feeling.

Massive earning potential

Nurseries are mushrooming everywhere because city dwellers want to have a green space in their adobe.

Farm Produce Exporter: As horticulturists nurture plants that bear fruits & vegetables, they become exporters, because India is the second largest exporter of fruits & vegetables in the world.

Education: A postgraduate qualification in Horticulture can earn teaching jobs in IARI, ICAR, state agricultural universities because they train budding agriculture scientists.

Further, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVK) employ them for developing pest resistant varieties that give a bumper harvest.

Agriculture Researcher: R & D is the backbone of the green revolution ensuring a surplus food grain production. A research scientist develops pest resistant varieties of plants that give a bumper harvest further augmenting farmer’s income.

There is no dearth of job opportunities for horticulturists because they nurture crops that augment farmer’s income. Further, India is a leading producer of spices & condiments which are a vital food ingredient all over the world. They entrust themselves with developing superior varieties of medicinal & aromatic plants that have a global market.

Mentha, Aloe Vera plants are used for preparing perfumes, hair oils & cosmetic products that have a massive global demand.