If you have an aptitude for science and love nature, horticulture is the career for you. And contrary to what you may believe, horticulture is not about gardens alone. Rather it is a broad field encompassing plant propagation, floriculture, landscape, architecture and even food processing and marketing. Horticulture is a booming field and offers wide-ranging opportunities. As Girja Shankar, joint-director of the Botanical Survey of India (India Botanic Gardens, Howrah) says, “Food processing and the export market of India have tremendous scope since there is a demand for Indian fruits and vegetables abroad.”

Horticulture involves five main areas of study — floriculture (production and marketing of floral crops), obericulture (production and marketing of vegetables), pomology (production & marketing of fruits), landscaping (production, marketing and maintenance of plants) and post-harvest physiology (maintaining quality and preventing spoilage of crops).

Says J.P. Tiwari, dean of agriculture at G.B. Pant University, Nainital, “It is an emerging field and managerial skills, competitiveness and quality consciousness are what one needs to make a mark.” The courses available range from one to four years. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore offers a four-year BSc as well as BTech courses in horticulture. K. Vanangamudi, the dean of the institute says, “Initially we had students from the rural regions only but today many city students are opting for horticulture.”

Tiwari, of G. B. Pant University, claims, “In the last four years, it has been observed that good students prefer horticulture as their first choice for pursuing postgraduate programmes.” The Agri-Horticultural Society of Calcutta also offers a one-year course in horticulture, certified by the Calcutta University and students with biology or an agriculture background can opt for it.

One can choose from a range of job profiles after a degree in horticulture like being a resident horticulturist, consultant landscaper, supervisor, farm or estate manager in health farms, resorts and hotels. Those with a specialisation in landscaping can handle projects independently or collaborate with organisations such as Masterplan Landscapes and Society of Green Makers.“Landscaping engages planners, designers, engineers, scientists and managers where we have to work hand in hand with architects,” says Venkatesh, an alumnus of TNAU and managing director of Society of Green Makers.

And with the entry of multinationals like Monsanto India and Indian firms like the Reliance Retail Limited and seed manufacturing companies like the Birlas, retail chains like Chennai-based Subhiksha, corporations such as the Mother Dairy Food Processing Limited and Safal Auction Market, the job scene is blazing. The remuneration is also good. A fresher starts with a package of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month. Karthikeya Prabhu, a final year student of BTech (horticulture), with a specialisation in landscaping, says, “Landscaping is lucrative with IT parks, commercial institutes and hotels coming up rapidly.”

Many horticulturists also go in for an MBA. Srinivas S., a final year student of BSc (horticulture), wants a management degree in this field. The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, offers a two-year programme on agri-business management.

As Jawaharlal Nehru said: “Most things, except agriculture, can wait.” So green is the way your career graph should go.