The research and educational work of our Department carries out is strongly related to three main branches of Horticulture: ornamental plant growing, nursery production, and amenity horticulture. These three branches together form the largest market share in gross horticultural production. Our research results and curriculum provide practical and reliable knowledge for those in the horticulture business.
We offer degrees in the above mentioned horticultural branches at three academic levels, B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD. We also offer specialization courses.
As part of the Horticultural Engineer (BSc) degree, our colleagues teach the main subjects of the department, such as Nursery Production, Cultivation of Greenhouse Ornamentals, Outdoor Production of Ornamental Plants and an optional specialization in Floriculture and Nursery. The Agricultural Engineering in Environmental Management (BSc) degree includes courses in Hungarian language on Forestry and Hunting, as well as Urban Afforestation for those who are still participating in this training. The main subjects of the Horticultural Masters (MSc) degree are Propagation Biology of Plants, Modern Systems in Production and Commerce of Ornamental Plants, Traditional and Innovative Amenity Horticulture and optional specialization on Ornamental Plants. We teach courses on Tissue Culture and Micropropagation as part of the Agricultural Biotechnology (MSc) degree. In the Horticultural Doctoral School our department teaches the courses of the Ornamental Plant Growing and Dendrology subject group and also directs the research of our PhD students.
Our research activity is carried out in four working groups:
Working Group of Greenhouse Produced Ornamental Plants (developing energy-saving ornamental plant growing technologies, growth control);
Working Group of Horticultural Dendrology (dendrological breeding, variety evaluation and cultivation technology, field produced ornamental plants);
Laboratory of Micropropagation (developing micropropagation technology for horticultural plants);
Working Group of Nursery Production and Propagation Biology (developing nursery propagation and cultivation technologies, application of bio-regulators and bio-stimulators, rootstock breeding and evaluation, research of rootstock-scionwood interactions).
In addition to the ever-shrinking national research grants, we use company mandates to finance a number of research projects. One result of our research is the state qualification of 14 ornamental tree varieties and 15 rootstock varieties. There is a great infrastructure and instrumentation to support our educational and research work including the laboratory of micropropagation, basic laboratory devices, Lci portable photosynthesis appliance, HPFMC appliance for measuring plant hydraulic conductivity, GENESYS 10vis spectrophotometer, greenhouse, nursery, the Buda Arboretum with the professional management of our Department and the Horticultural-Dendrological Gene Bank with the maintenance and evaluation of 2350 taxons.
The publications of our colleagues are nationally known and outstanding. Our most important books include Greenhouse Produced Ornamental Plants, Horticultural Dendrology, Plants in Landscape-design, Ornamental Tree Nursery, Fruit Tree Nursery, Horticultural Micropropagation. Beside this our colleagues are the authors of several book chapters, our scientific results are regularly published in renowned Hungarian and foreign professional journals and conferences.
