16 August 2024 Plant and Horticultural Sciences major growing students to feed hungry industry

A new dedicated horticultural major will set Lincoln University students up to work in an industry hungry for skilled professionals.

Starting next year, Lincoln will be offering the new Bachelor of Science - Plant & Horticultural Sciences major, focusing on a wholistic and applied approach to horticulture.

Lecturer and course contact Dr Pieter-Willem Hendriks said the new major was unique to New Zealand in how hands-on it was.

“The industry wants people who are capable of solving problems when they arrive, not somebody who grabs for their phone at the first occasion.

“We’ve set up these modules throughout three years to give the students what we believe is the core needed to be a problem solver. Understanding a problem and knowing where to find solutions if you don’t know them by heart.”

Students studying the programme would get much more much more non-pasture based applied plant science and horticulture than any other major offered at Lincoln, he said.

The first year of study would give students a firm basis of the science behind horticulture, including biology, chemistry, soil science, and a brand new dedicated horticultural basics course.

By having a new dedicated horticultural class in first year, students could now engage more deeply in their later studies.

“We can reinforce those basics instead of trying to teach them right then and there.”

The first year also included a course on Māori food production — Mahika Kai — which explored traditional and contemporary theory and practice.

“We wanted this to be a broader vision than just neither a pure economical commerce management point of view, nor purely hardcore science.

“It needs to be applied. These are people who are going to go out into the industry and apply the knowledge that we gave to them.”

It was also designed with flexibility, so any student wanting to change to another science major would have the ability to do so.

Once they had that firm grounding students would engage with more practical work in their second and third year.

We want students to go visit farms, we want them to get their hands dirty.

Students would be working in labs with direct contact with plants, teaching them practical horticultural skills and preparing them for work in the industry.

“I think that’s something quite unique to Lincoln. We have the opportunity to offer this hands-on living lab experience.”

Student interest in horticulture courses was increasing, with rising numbers in existing horticulture and plant physiology courses.

Alongside the new major, the faculty had developed a new orchard so students could visit and interact with important industry plants.

Students coming out of the course would be well equipped to work in orchards, glasshouse and field management, and other aspects of the industry such as food representation.

We’re not only setting them up for now, we’re setting them up for the next 10-15 years.

The programme had a big focus on sustainability, integrated pest management and management of inputs, such as fertiliser and irrigation.

“There is a need in the industry, so the students coming out of this will be highly employable.

“This is, in our point of view, what a student would need if they wanted to go into the applied science horticultural business.”

Find out more about the new Bachelor of Science - Plant & Horticultural Sciences major.