home departments & majors departments horticulture and crop science

The Horticulture and Crop Science Department at Cal Poly offers students an opportunity not just to learn, but learn by doing. Our students benefit from a broad spectrum of opportunities ranging from hands-on experiences in our fields, groves, nurseries, and greenhouses to real-world experiences through internships and other collaborations with our industry partners. The Department also excels in providing a foundational plant science background and instilling a passion for plants as it produces the next generation of leaders in the agricultural and environmental plant sciences. As a result, Horticulture and Crop Science graduates are in high demand by the agricultural industry.

	Over 98% of our nation's food supply is produced on 297 million acres.

The Horticulture and Crop Science Department offers majors in Crop Science, Fruit Science and Environmental Horticultural Science. Enterprise projects allow students to grow, harvest, and market a product, and receive a portion of the profit along with academic credit. Internships are readily available and provide students with “real world” exposure and help students to integrate the concepts learned in the classroom.

Crop Science

A crop scientist works to develop cropping systems that are both profitable and ecologically sustainable. Students in the Crop Science major therefore take courses that discuss the management of irrigation and equipment, the timing of planting and harvesting, plant and insect pest management, fertilization, postharvest handling and marketing, and a variety of other aspects of efficiently and sustainably producing food and fiber. The major focuses on areas of innovation and development such as postharvest technology, plant biotechnology, integrated pest management, and precision farming.

Fruit Science

The Fruit Science major prepares students for the current and future challenges of the multi-billion dollar fruit and nut crop industry. The curriculum focuses on the fundamentals of crop growth and crop production. Graduates are knowledgeable about innovations in production including propagation, sustainable irrigation, fertilization and pest-management methods, high-density orchard design and postharvest technology. The major is also flexible enough to allow students to pursue minors in areas as diverse as Agribusiness or Plant Pest Protection.

Environmental Horticultural Science

In the Environmental Horticulture major, students come to understand how plants grow and become experts in the culture and utilization of plants to enhance the human environment. Students take courses that discuss the management of irrigation and equipment, the timing of planting and harvesting, plant and insect pest management, fertilization, postharvest handling and marketing, and a variety of other aspects of efficiently and sustainably managing nurseries, greenhouse operations and landscapes. Students may concentrate in Landscape Horticulture, Nursery and Floriculture Production or Turfgrass Management.

The horticulture and Crop Science Department also offers minors in Crop Science, Fruit Science, Landscape Horticulture, Ornamental Plant Production and Plant Protection Science.

To reiterate, the major Degree Programs offered in the Horticulture and Crop Science (HCS) Department are as follows:

	Department Website...  http://hcrs.calpoly.edu Department Chair:   Dr. John C. Peterson Phone:   (805) 756-2279 Fax:   (805) 756-6504 College of Agriculture: cafes@calpoly.edu

• B.S. in Crop Science major program

• B.S. in Environmental Horticultural Science major program
• B.S. in Fruit Science major program
  
  Horticulture and Crop Science Dept. offers the following minors:
  Crop Science, Fruit Science, Landscape Horticulture, Ornamental Plant Production and Plant Protection Science.

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