Bachelor of Horticultural Science

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Horticultural Science program at Massey University equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary for careers in the horticulture industry. The program includes a combination of core courses, compulsory course selections, and practical work experience, providing a comprehensive understanding of plant biology, horticulture production systems, and business management. Graduates are prepared for roles in research, production, and management in the horticulture sector.

Program Outline

Outline:

• Structure:
• The program is structured to equip you with the relevant and contemporary skills sought after in the industry.
• You will take eight 15-credit courses in your first year, totaling 120 credits.
• Full-time students can choose to study over two semesters and take around 60 credits per semester.
Some courses might be available at summer school.
• 26 weeks of full-time work in horticulture are included as part of the program, typically done during summer, with full support to find opportunities and have an enjoyable learning experience.
• Modules:

Core Courses (Choose 255 credits from):

• Food and Agribusiness Value Chains (15 credits) - Studying the flow of food and agricultural products from farm to consumer, focusing on successful value chain management for food and agribusiness.
Includes field trips.
• Economics for Business (15 credits) - Examines the contemporary economic environment for businesses and how economics can aid business decision-making.
• Plants for Agriculture and Horticulture (15 credits) - Introduction to important agricultural and horticultural species in NZ's economy, their growth, development, responses to the environment, and implications for production.
Also covers their identification and biology, including weeds and pests essential to plant production.
• Practicum I (0 credits) - Ten consecutive weeks of industry experience in a public or private land-based business.
A descriptive report demonstrating your observation, analysis, and reporting skills is required.
• Introduction to Agribusiness (15 credits) - Introduction to the organization, structure, and governance of New Zealand agribusiness in a global context.
Includes examining the international and domestic environment and its impact on NZ agribusiness, exploring NZ farm systems, and analyzing agribusiness challenges and opportunities.
• Practicum II (0 credits) - Ten consecutive weeks of industry experience in a public or private land-based business.
A detailed report identifying and analyzing opportunities, problems, policies, and technical and research issues is required. This follows Practicum I.
• Policy, Regulation and Government in Primary Industry (15 credits) - Covers legal responsibilities, compliance, and obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Includes examples of relevant legislation and how central and local government, as well as industry systems, work with them. Includes analytical frameworks to assist decision-making in finance, human resources, production, and marketing.
• Integrative Studies (15 credits) - An integrative course emphasizing the broad knowledge base gained in the degree and the value of multidisciplinary teams in addressing relevant industry issues and problems.
Emphasizes problem-solving, group learning, problem-solving strategies, and communication in applied science. Includes real-world problems.
• Decision-Making in Primary Industry (15 credits) - A practical approach to managing strategy, finance, and tactics in primary industries.
Explores, through in-field case studies and business analysis, planning under uncertainty.
• Plant Biology (15 credits) - An integrated introductory study of plants, covering major themes like plant form and function, regulation of growth and development, plant diversity, and plants and people.
• Agri-Statistics (15 credits) - Introduction to statistics in an agricultural context, covering the presentation, analysis, and interpretation of quantitative data.
• Principles of Soil Science (15 credits) - An integrated introductory course in soil science.
Explores the interaction between soil and the environment, soil formation and morphology, soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, and their influence on soil management, nutrient cycling, and soil-plant interactions.
• Soil Fertility Management (15 credits) - Examines the influence of soil factors on plant nutrient cycling in agricultural production systems.
Covers the composition, properties, and uses of fertilizers in improving soil fertility and associated environmental issues. Also includes Students explore the intersection of science and community through examples of research partnerships with Te Ao Māori in the context of primary production in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Horticultural Production Systems (15 credits) - An interdisciplinary study of major vegetable and fruit production systems in NZ and overseas, analyzing different systems and subsystems using indicators like productivity, quality, profitability, and sustainability.
• Horticultural Crop Development & Yield (15 credits) - The physiological and applied aspects of monitoring, predicting, and manipulating crop growth and development in production horticulture to optimize yield, quality, and timeliness.
Predicts crop growth and development in response to the environment and associated decisions made by growers.
• Horticultural Productivity and Quality (15 credits) - The role of crop architecture and the aerial environment's modification for optimizing yield and pre-harvest product quality.
The factors affecting quality and shelf life of horticultural commodities through the handling chain are also covered.
• Understanding Plant Protection (15 credits) - Covers the importance of diseases, pests, and weeds to horticultural, agricultural, and forestry production, trade, gardening, and conservation.
Introduction to the biology of these organisms is given, along with understanding their management and control. Includes an introduction to chemical, non-chemical, and integrated control methods. This is a practical work course.

Compulsory Course Selections (Choose at least 15 credits from):

• Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour (15 credits) - An introductory biology course on organism reactions, adaptations, and interactions.
It investigates the relationships between genotype, phenotype, and environment, plus the diversity of life on Earth within a phylogenetic framework. Examines the dynamic interactions within and between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems, focusing on the evolutionary ecology of behaviors like foraging, mating, parenting, and cooperation.
• Fundamentals of Leadership and Teamwork (15 credits) - Introduction to the theory and practice of leadership and teamwork.
• Plants and People (15 credits) - Plants as sources of food and beverage, medicine, fibers, and dyes, with emphasis on their origin, domestication, and the role of plant breeding to improve plants for human use.
Physiological effects of active plant compounds on the body. Cultural and geographic origins of commercially important plants.
• Applied Engineering in Agriculture and Horticulture Systems (15 credits) - Engineering principles underpinning the systems used in the growing, harvest, and post-harvest treatment of agricultural and horticultural products.
Emphasis is placed on deriving the system performance specification following consideration of capacity, product quality and safety, and ecological requirements.

Compulsory Course Selections (Choose at least 45 credits from):

• International Food and Agribusiness Strategies (15 credits) - Application of a broad range of business concepts in international agri-food business and marketing.
Focus is on international consumers and agri-food exports, including external environment, terms of trade, transportation, packaging, documentation, methods of payment, risk management, and negotiation.
• Plant Diversity (15 credits) - Explores the processes that influence how plant lineages evolve and how we investigate and interpret patterns of diversity to better understand plant evolution and speciation.
Lectures focus on critical discussion of topics including species concepts, local adaptation and diversification, morphological and molecular evolution, mating systems, and the roles of hybridization and polyploidy. Links basic and applied science focusing on how natural and induced genetic variation can be harnessed for human use. Discussion of environmental, ethical, and regulatory issues is included.
• Precision Agriculture Technologies (15 credits) - Knowledge of remote and proximal sensing, and precision livestock techniques to provide information to mitigate environmental impacts under intensive farm production systems.
Consideration of issues of resource use, optimization of farm production, and environmental performance of primary industries.
• Integrated Farm and Environmental Management (15 credits) - Examines farm physical resources, nutrient management and budgeting, and contaminant loss processes in the context of Te Mana o te Wai.
Students integrate their knowledge to produce a freshwater Farm Environment Plan which identifies soil, pathogen, nutrient, and greenhouse gas loss pathways on multiple land uses and justifies mitigation practices appropriate for the farm system and to protect freshwater.