Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

The science of agricultural and horticultural plant breeding is used to modify plants to produce crops with higher yields, better quality, stronger environmental tolerance, increased pest resistance and faster cultivation. Agricultural and horticultural plant breeders use classical breeding, hybridization, genetic modification and recombination to reach these goals.

Students can graduate with a bachelor's degree or continue on to a master's degree or a Ph.D. program. Agricultural undergraduates will apply their knowledge of crop and soil sciences to large-yield farm crops, while horticultural students will focus on the growth and use of edible, ornamental or turf plants and grasses. Classes include organic chemistry, agronomy, soils, propagation methods, crop physiology and plant pathology.

Graduates of agricultural and horticultural plant breeding programs may begin their careers as agricultural scientists, horticulturalists, plant biochemists, food scientists or crop inspectors. Employers might include the government, universities, food production companies, and agencies related to farming and planting.

There are dozens of agricultural schools with Animal Science majors, but how do you know which ones are the best?. U.S. News and World Report ranks Cornell University, the University of California-Davis and Pennsylvania State University among the top Animal Science agricultural Schools.

Agricultural Engineering, also called biological and agricultural engineering, is the branch of engineering concerned with maximizing the efficient use of natural resources. This manifests itself primarily in relation to food, since Agricultural Engineering seeks to improve the way food is grown, stored and transported.

Agricultural scientists research and study farm crops, animals, irrigation and soil techniques and discover new ways to improve their quality to help the environment and consumers. A Bachelor of Science in Agriculture is required to become an agricultural scientist.