Projects, Contests & Activities

Horticulture Identification and Judging Contest

General Information

The production, marketing, and buying of horticultural crops (fruits & nuts, vegetables & herbs, flowers & indoor plants, and trees & shrubs) requires a detailed knowledge of many subject matter disciplines. The horticulture contest is a training program that teaches individuals to recognize and judge the quality of some of the most important horticultural crops produced and/or consumed in North America. Participants must also be able to answer questions and solve problems on horticultural subjects.

Who Can Participate

15-22 years old and divided into seven (7) divisions.

  1. 4-H Team (ages 15-20) - 3 or 4 individuals
  2. FFA team(s) (ages 15-20) - 3 or 4 individuals
  3. Open Team(s) (ages 15-18) - 3 or 4 individuals
  4. Open Team(s) (ages 19-22) - 3 or 4 individuals
  5. Open Individual (ages 15-18)
  6. Open Individual (ages 19-22)
  7. Honors -- Reserved for individuals who have placed first in a previous Horticulture Contest in any division either as an individual or as a team member.

Project Requirements

The horticulture contest consists of three sections (judging - 80 points, identification - 200 points (250 points for Honors division), and information - 160 points). A list of items for identification, judging, and subject matter for the written test is available in a manual (NJHA HORTICULTURE CONTEST STUDY MANUAL, 2002 edition)and compact disk (CD) available from the NJHA executive secretary. Your state leader may already have copies of this manual.

Special 4-H Rules

  1. Teams of three or four members must compete (no individuals without a team)
  2. Only one 4-H team per state is allowed.
  3. Individuals who have competed in any division of this contest are ineligible to compete in the
    4-H division.
  4. College students who have completed two or more terms or semesters of college; or who have competed in collegiate events of a similar nature or similar subject matter are not eligible to compete in the 4-H division.

Awards

Plaques will be presented (if scores are of a sufficient level) as follows:

  1. 4-H Team -- Each member of the top five (5) teams and top 10 individuals.
  2. FFA Team(s) -- Each member of the top five (5) teams and top 10 individuals.
  3. Open Team (15-18) -- Each member of the top five (5) teams and top 10 individuals.
  4. Open Team (19-22) -- Each member of the top five (5) teams and top 10 individuals.
  5. Individual (age 15-18) -- Top 10 individuals.
  6. Individual (age 19-22) -- Top 10 individuals.
  7. Honors -- Top 10 individuals.

Entry Deadline

10:00 p.m. on the opening day of the convention. Entry dates and selection procedures vary from state to state. Consult with your state leader for additional information.

For additional information, consult the project chairperson: Greg Stack, 5527 Miller Circle Drive, Matteson, Illinois 60443 Phone: (708) 448-7215. E-mail: gstack@uiuc.edu

Horticulture Identification and Juding Contest Contents