Plant Science

Horticulture is the science, art, technology and business of cultivating ornamental plants, fruit and vegetables for human use. It is practiced at all levels, from individuals at home to the activities of multi-national corporations.

Commercial Production Horticulture focusses on the production of edible plants and nursery stock supporting an industry with an economic value of around £10 billion.

In 2011 the Production Horticulture Industry produced fruits and vegetables worth £1.8 billion and ornamentals worth £1 billion over 168,000 hectares.

£4.5 billion worth of imports of fruit and vegetables per annum has highlighted the need for the UK to produce more fresh produce as efficiently and sustainably as possible leading to developments in technology that are transforming the horticulture industry.

This is a really exciting time to start a career in horticulture. There is a skills shortage in the sector with 73% of businesses reporting that they are unable to fill job vacancies.

You could help to make a difference by developing new ways to grow food crops, use technology to protect the environment, grow and develop new plant varieties or develop new businesses and markets for new plant products as well as researching pioneering growing techniques.

Our new state-of-the-art commercial production unit includes a micropropagation unit to support the study of plant tissue culture and biotechnology and three fully automated commercial glasshouses including a computer-controlled hydroponic system and LED top and inter-crop lighting.