Welcome to the Department of Horticulture. The discipline of Horticulture is the science and art of the production, marketing, and use of high-value, intensively cultivated plants. For more information about this discipline, visit our infographic or our What is Horticulture page.
The Department's mission is to prepare our students for horticulture-related careers in science and business. This includes making new discoveries in the plant sciences; promoting the use of plants and food for improved human health and a safe environment; improving the characteristics, quality and availability of horticultural products; and strengthening the competitive position of the world's horticultural industries. Faculty members possess a diverse array of expertise - both interdisciplinary (e.g., breeding, genomics, development, physiology, metabolism, molecular biology, and sustainable production), and commodity based (e.g., fruits/pomology, vegetables, viticulture, floriculture, nursery crops, postharvest, design and landscape ecology, and marketing) - which they utilize in their research, teaching and outreach programs, at both the national and international levels.
Who will develop the science and technology to cultivate plants for human and environmental health? SPARTANS WILL.
Featured Students
News
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Producing exceptional tasting, high-quality fruit
Published on January 1, 2019
Einhorn strives to cultivate trees that will consistently produce the right balance of flowers, fruit and leaves to produce “exceptional tasting, high-quality fruit.
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Finding ways to use natural plant adaptations to feed the world
Published on January 1, 2019
Robert VanBuren, an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Horticulture, explores how the mechanisms and characteristics that help plants be resilient to drought could lead to new advances in agriculture.
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Helping fruit tree growers flourish
Published on January 1, 2019
Courtney Hollender is passionate about using research to improve harvesting practices and crop yields for fruit tree growers. She’s on a mission to keep Michigan’s tree fruit production thriving.
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Disentangling the origins of species
Published on January 1, 2019
Discovering the identities of those species could open the next chapter in fruit breeding, and it’s a challenge that MSU AgBioResearch plant breeder Patrick Edger and his team aim to unravel.
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New scholarships for undergraduates interested in agricultural or natural sciences career
Published on December 20, 2018
Incoming MSU freshmen or transfer students should apply now for Fall 2019 scholarships in these applied STEM disciplines that are vital to our national and global security and economy.
