Training Future Horticulturists; and an Example for a Leading National Program on Efficient and Modern Apple Production in the US

Abstract The importance of “horticulture” has arisen way above just being a “branch of agriculture”. Horticulture by definition encompasses the science and art of growing edible and ornamental crops at an intensive scale. Economically, horticultural plants are grown in less acreage but have more cash values than agronomical crops. From the stand point of human health, horticultural crops are the main sources of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, and other nutritional values required in the human daily diet. Thus, it is not surprising that horticultural crops may rank second in the list of national income, next to petroleum, in many oil-producing countries, including Iran. Therefore, training future horticulturists, able to fulfill needs of future generations, is an extremely important task of educational institutions. Training merely for the sake of increasing the number of graduates in horticulture is not a wisely-designed goal for any institution. Future horticulturists should be trained to face major challenges such as drought, scarce usable land, disappearing-valuable germplasm, and environmental and human safety. To achieve this critical goal, it is essential that all natural resources, including land and water, are used most efficiently and molecular