Department Overview

Department of Horticulture was established in 1983 at the Isfahan University of Technology (IUT) to help Iran’s horticultural industries achieve their full potential through research and marketing by educating and training students for careers in farm, industry, government, and academia. Our mission is to produce innovative graduates, create knowledge, enhance entrepreneurship and provide community service/outreach through quality teaching, training and technologically-oriented research in Horticultural Sciences and Technology. Our full time faculty members are teaching and investigating in the different fields of Horticulture including Pomology, Olericulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design and Postharvest Technology. This department provides excellent research laboratories, as well as specialized facilities and research and education greenhouses. Five hectares grape and other temperate and subtropical fruit collection and olive adaptation orchard are other facilities of our department. Currently the department of Horticulture offers diverse and highly rated educational programs in three degrees (B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D).

Research fields 

The department is actively engaged in the four major areas of micropropagation of horticultural crops, vegetable production technology, environmental factors affecting plant growth and post-harvest physiology.

Micropropagation

Micropropagation is a true to type propagation of selected genotypes using in vitro culture techniques. Realizing the potential of the techniques in the world trade of horticultural commodities, the department has initially directed its research towards developing protocols for the micropropagation of some horticultural important ornamentals, fruits and vegetables.
Vegetable production technology
Food production is increasing. It is essential to sustain increased production besides nutritional standard of people. It can be increased by increasing production of vegetables which will help to solve food problem as yield of vegetable crops is 4 to 10 times more than cereals. Thus, vegetables play a vital role on food front as they are cheapest-sources of natural foods and can admirably supplement the main cereals of the country. One of the Departments of Horticulture’s main functions is to provide technical services to farmers and general public in order to improve vegetable productivity and efficiency and thus improving people's living standards. Shortage of agricultural water  force to increase greenhouse production area which has its problems to be solve.
Environmental factors affecting plant growth
Stress physiology is another major theme pursued by the staff at the department. The stress physiology lab of the Department of Horticulture is interested in exploring the physiological effects of stress on plants. Among the ongoing activities of the team are studies on the manipulation of environmental/cultural conditions to improve drought resistance in several fruit species. Several research projects have been carried out on the effects of soil water deficit and irrigation regimes on deciduous fruit trees including fruit set, yield and quality. Furthermore physiological studies of cold hardiness, salinity tolerance and heavy metal resistance in fruit and vegetables crops are under way.
Post-harvest physiology
The considerable qualitative and quantitative losses in horticultural commodities during handling, transportation and storage have been the subject of extensive studies. In these studies, the effects of crop maturity at harvest time, storage conditions, handling, etc. on post-harvest life of fruits, vegetables and flowers have been investigated.

Research projects (former and current)

• Effect of auxin on fruit set in tomato growing under adverse temperatures in the field (2000)
• In vitro propagation of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) (2001)
• Effect of mother plant size on off shoots regeneration in date palm cv. ‘Sayer’ under field conditions (2001)
• Collection, evaluation, breeding and study on the factors affecting seed production of native onions (2001)
• Effect of plant growth regulators on seedling growth in four species of almond (2006)
• Collection and evaluation of visual quality and drought resistance of different ecotypes of       Cynodon dactylon  in Isfahan and Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari regions (2006)
• 1-MCP and temperature may affect on storage and qualities of olive prior to processing (2007)
• Investigation of temperature effects on germination of Iranian shallot (2008)
• Study for introduction of olives and eucalyptus in Isfahan landscape (2012)
• Evaluation of growth and phytoremediation ability of two native turfgrass species for  landscape using in hydrocarbon contaminated areas (2013-continueing)
• Effect of hormone, tree age and transplanting method on establishment of dominant trees in Isfahan urban landscape (2013-continueing)