When you hear the word "science", what images come to mind? The chances are, they have little to do with the plant world. Perhaps it is because flowers, grass, trees, fruit and vegetables are so familiar that we tend to overlook the skills and technology that have harnessed them to our needs.

But plant research will become more important as we adapt to climate change, population growth, environmental degradation and the effects of diet and lifestyle on our health.

Industry consultant Professor Geoff Dixon, who is also senior research fellow at the University of Reading's Centre for Horticulture and Landscape, says: "I would urge young people to consider horticulture if they are interested in science.

"How we raise the productivity of food crops, in a way that's less environmentally damaging, is a question for biology, and particularly for horticulture."

Not all recent signs have been positive for horticultural research, he says, with major research facilities closing or cutting back. But Dixon sees this as a setback that can be overcome.

"The Government has put more money in blue-sky research than into applied science, so we've failed to apply what we've learned," he says. "Those applied skills will be desperately needed - though that might mean looking beyond Britain."

The opportunities are "enormous" in some often overlooked areas like soil science, he adds. "We use soil very inefficiently. We can also improve fruit production, street trees - they all need people who have the theory and are able to apply it."

Ventures such as the recently completed £1m Thanet Earth glasshouse complex in Kent show what we can expect from horticulture in future, he says.

Given the applied nature of the science, it often appeals to people who already have a grounding in a branch of horticulture, and are keen to raise their skills and prospects by deepening their understanding of their subject.

The number of degree-level courses has grown in recent years, with several traditional further education colleges such as Writtle, Myerscough, Hadlow and Duchy Colleges expanding into the higher education sector.

Established universities are keen to ensure their courses retain a strong applied element. Nottingham Trent University offers an environmental design and management course, which course leader David Jukes says has been widened to meet the needs of industry. He explains: "We have an industry committee that meets every year, and from that it's clear that the sector needs a broad range of skills."

As a result, the course has a strong practical bias, while retaining an emphasis on science, he says.

This has led to graduates pursuing careers in fields as diverse as landscape design, parks management and therapeutic horticulture. Jukes adds that students' backgrounds are diverse too, with former policemen, lawyers and bankers as well as school leavers.

He says: "Horticulture hasn't always succeeded in attracting people, but perceptions are changing, in part thanks to the way schools are connecting science with practical subjects."

Production values

Food production is a high-tech industry, and this applies as much to the production and delivery as to the processing and packaging of what we eat. How to produce fruit and vegetables that are visually appealing, healthy and sustainably produced is one the main topics of courses such as Newcastle University's BSc honours courses in agronomy and organic food production.

Senior lecturer Dr Kirsten Brandt says: "Fruit and vegetables are the only foods we know are good for us. We know we have the key to population health - producing and delivering appetising food is incredibly important.

"The stumbling block is that the quality isn't good enough."

The three-year course is geared to real-world problems and includes a one-year sandwich placement in industry, she says. "Most people get a job within half a year of graduating - some in research, but most in food companies."

The Government and its agencies also remain major employers of botany and horticulture graduates, often carrying out regulatory tasks rather than research. The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), for example, regulates the release of new varieties of edible and ornamental crops.

NIAB's head of ornamental crops, Elizabeth Scott, says: "There is a broad range of jobs here, from taxonomists to people skilled in growing the plants. With all of them though, you need to be fascinated by plants."

Taxonomists, who establish the relationship between plant species, usually have a degree in botany, and are also in demand in leading botanic gardens such as Kew Gardens and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, which are centres for research and understanding as well as public enjoyment of plants.

Subjects away from what is traditionally regarded as "core" horticulture also increasingly demand high levels of technical expertise. The degree in golf course management has come in for some stick in the press, but the sports turf world is increasingly technical; highly qualified and often highly paid specialists are in demand worldwide.

Dr Iain James is head of the centre for sports surface technology at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire. He says: "About 70 per cent of our students have already worked in either turf grass science or in the sports surfaces industry, so they tend to be a little older, and are looking to move on.

"Some go on to be golf course managers, some go into consultancy, others go on to do PhDs. But it's a very international field, and you might end up working for a local authority in New Zealand. Even with the recession, there are still jobs there for talented individuals."

Working in parallel

Some students combine technical their knowledge with creative flair and take a degree in golf course design, which more or less necessitates working internationally. Similarly, landscape design is usually thought of as an "arty" subject, but here too there opportunities to develop higher-level technical skills. Several colleges and universities offer science degrees in landscape design, setting graduates up for project management positions in landscaping projects that may have budgets of millions.

The London 2012 Olympics exemplify this expertise in action, in creating a park that will meet the needs of people, wildlife and the wider environment.

Indeed a growing number of higher education qualifications feature the word "environmental", as matters of water management and carbon footprints become central to the design and maintenance of open spaces. Environmental officers are employed at every local authority in the country.

Arboriculture is another area that has seen a rise in professional specialisation in recent years. Lancashire's Myerscough College now runs both a BSc and an MSc course in the subject.

MSc course tutor Dr Mark Johnston says entrants on the part-time course tend already to be working either as consultants or as senior local government officers. "They come from various backgrounds - forestry, landscape and conservation as well as arboriculture."

Both the BSc and MSc courses give students eight points towards the 10 needed to gain chartered status; that is a recent breakthrough that now puts arborists on a par with surveyors, landscape architects and other professionals. The status awarded by the Chartered Institute of Foresters will, according to Johnston, "set the gold standard" for arboriculture.

 

PAYSCALE - TYPICAL SALARIES FOR THE SECTOR

Botanist, ecologist: £22-30,000 pa
Arboricultural consultant: £22-35,000 pa
Agronomist: £25-40,000 pa
Plant biology researcher: £25-40,000 pa
Sports surface consultant: £30-40,000 pa