Successful gardening involves combining knowledge, technique, and art in fields, such as Botany, Plant Physiology, Soil Science/Plant Nutrition, Genetics/Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology, Fruit/Vegetable Gardening, Floriculture, Medicinal herbs, and Landscape Design. Our undergraduate program includes two majors: Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.
The aim of these programs is to train individuals who can serve the society as specialists in different discipline such a regional planning, and academic fields, or as educators at agricultural education and research institutes, or as administrators and directors at governmental and private production company. The undergraduate program in Horticulture was introduced in 1995, and students are required to pass 143 units to successfully complete this program.
Graduate Programs
The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture first began to admit students into the MSc program in 2003 with the aim of training specialists who could effectively exploit the potentials and improve the quality and quantity of gardening products and are able to teach Horticulture and related courses to undergraduate students at faculties of Agriculture.
Master’s students currently study in four branches of the field, namely Ornamental Plants, Fruit Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, and Medicinal plant. Students must pass a total of 32 units during throughout the course of this program.
The doctoral program, which covers the latest advancements of technology with regard to gardening products, is the highest degree in the field. It is of utmost importance for this field to train individuals who can operate at a very high level. The aim of our doctoral program is to train graduates who can manage educational, planning, and research affairs in the different branches of this major or teach at universities and research institutes or perform planning tasks at executive organizations. The doctoral program at the Department of Horticulture was established in 2010 by admitting 11 students into the branches of Fruit Tree Physiology and Breeding, Vegetable Physiology and Breeding, and Ornamental Plant Physiology and Breeding. The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture also began admitting students into the branch of Herb Physiology and Breeding, which offers a total of 36 units.
There are 10 faculty members at the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, consisting of three professors, one associate professor, five assistant professors, one lecturer, and also three sessional lecturers (doctorate students).
Laboratories and Equipment at the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture:
This department is in possession of six laboratories, namely Graduate Education Laboratory, Ornamental Plants Laboratory, Plant Physiology Laboratory, Tissue Culture Laboratory, General Horticulture Laboratory, and Plant Propagation Laboratory as well as two design ateliers at former building of horticultural department, and a drying room. Other facilities of this department include the following:
- A collection garden, with an area of 11 hectares, situated at the research farm of the faculty
- Department ground, with an area of 14400 square meters
- Four Quonset huts, with a total area of 1560 square meters
- Four plastic greenhouses, with a total area of 373 square meters
- A Lean-to greenhouse, with an area of 450 square meters
Products of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
- Over a hundred houseplants
- Garden plants (seasonal flowers for spring and autumn)
- A variety of ornamental trees and shrubs
- Permanent plants such as roses, bushes, hedge plants, etc., usable in green space
- Assisting in the design of the green space at the Faculty of Agriculture and the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad campus
Fields of Cooperation with Private Organizations and Other Institutes:
- Consulting services in all gardening projects including fruit gardens, indoor vegetable gardening, small fruits, floriculture, urban and suburban green space design, producing bred seeds, cultivation, medicinal herb seeds production and cultivation, edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation, and all projects concerning greenhouses, nurseries, and production of bred ornamental tree and shrub samplings.