Description
Conduct research and applied programs in breeding, physiology, production, yield, and management of horticultural crops and ornamental plants in fields, nurseries, greenhouses, and urban landscapes; evaluate soils and soilless media as they relate to plant growth and pest control. May assess and map site soils or substrates and investigate effects of alternative cultural practices on plant quality, productivity, and sustainability.
- • Communicate research and project results to professionals and the public; teach related courses, seminars, or workshops.
- • Advise growers, landscapers, and landowners on site use, plant selection, cultural practices, and mitigation of issues such as erosion or compaction.
- • Evaluate how soils and substrates respond to irrigation, fertilization, mulching, or tillage and how those practices affect plant performance.
- • Develop soil and substrate conservation and management methods for nurseries, orchards, vineyards, and landscape operations.
- • Conduct breeding and trials to develop improved horticultural varieties with traits such as yield, quality, pest and disease resistance, nutritional value, or climate and substrate adaptation.
- • Investigate soil, substrate, or water quality problems to determine sources and effects on plant health.
- • Assess and classify site soils and substrates by location, landscape position, and properties to guide plant selection and management.
- • Develop improved measurement techniques, sampling tools, conservation methods, or sensors for horticultural soils and substrates.
- • Study interactions among soils or substrates, microbiomes, and horticultural plants across production and landscape systems.
- • Identify degraded or contaminated soils and develop remediation plans to improve properties for successful planting.
- • Survey sites for classification, inventory, mapping, and to support environmental impact, conservation, or reclamation plans affecting horticultural projects.
- • Analyze soils, substrates, and microbiota to determine relationships to plant growth and health.
- • Advise on regulatory standards and best practices for urban landscapes, nursery production, land reclamation, or soil conservation.
- • Develop and validate methods or products to control weeds, diseases, and insect pests in horticultural systems.
- • Research best methods for planting, spraying, cultivating, harvesting, storing, processing, or transporting horticultural products.
- • Consult with engineers, architects, and contractors on construction and landscape projects regarding soil and plant issues and solutions.
- • Develop soil and substrate amendment strategies to suit different plant types.
- • Study pest distribution and pathways and recommend methods to prevent introduction or spread of injurious species in nurseries and landscapes.
- • Identify and classify insect, mite, and allied pest species affecting horticultural plants.
- • Conduct experiments on pollinator health and factors affecting nectar or pollen yield in horticultural systems.
- • Research horticultural plant species for use as bioenergy feedstocks or in green-fuel production.
- • Develop environmentally safe, integrated pest management methods for weeds, diseases, and pests.
- • Research technical requirements and environmental impacts of urban green spaces, including green roof or living wall installations.
- • Study and implement practices that improve sustainability in horticulture, such as optimized composting and resource-efficient irrigation and fertilization.
- • Plan or supervise composting and green-waste management programs for nurseries, greenhouses, or landscape operations.
- • Plan or supervise landscape restoration, conservation plantings, or reclamation programs associated with development projects.
- • Conduct experiments to elucidate mechanisms of horticultural plant growth and responses to environment, light, nutrients, and cultural practices.
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
