College of Horticulture & Forestry, RLBCAU

Dr. M.J. Dobriyal

College of Horticulture and Forestry is a constituent college of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University and is located in the main campus of the University at Jhansi. It is one of the India’s few combined College of Horticulture & Forestry for better integration of perennial crops. The college is imparting quality education in Horticulture and Forestry disciplines. The total intake capacity is 33 students each in B.Sc. Hons. (Horticulture) and B.Sc. Hons. (Forestry). There are 14 approved departments with 4-5 core departments is both streams in the college Viz, Fruit science, Vegetable Science, Floriculture & Landscaping, Post harvest Technology, Silviculture & agroforestry, Forest Biology & Tree improvement, Forest Products and Utilisation, Forest Resource Management, Biotechnology & Crop Improvement along with Environmental Science, Wildlife management, Forest protection, Plantation crops, Spices & MAPs, Basic sciences as subsidiary sections. The first batch of UG programmes was started in 2016-17. During 2019-20, Post graduate degree programme with M.Sc. (Horticulture) in two disciplines (Fruit Science and Vegetable Science) and M.Sc. (Forestry) in (Silviculture & Agroforestry) started. Again in 2022-23 PG programme in Floriculture and landscaping, Forest products and Utilisation along with two Doctoral programme in Fruit Science & PhD Forestry (SAF) added. The college is imparting education as per the course curricula of Fifth Deans’ Committee recommendation and BSMA, 2020. For imparting quality education, the college has established Instructional Fruit Orchard, Vegetable Cafeteria, Floriculture Block, Cirus, Ber, Guava, Jamun, Dragon fruit , Strawberry blocks, Protected cultivation unit, Ployhouses & propagation unit, Forest trees & MAP Nursery, MAP & NTFP Garden, Essential oil distillation unit, Arboretum, Bambusetum, Agroforestry blocks etc.
The College has fully centralized air cooling system academic building with smart class rooms, seminar halls for effective delivery of the curriculum besides central laboratories. Scientists & faculties from ICAR Institutes (Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Central Agro Forestry Research Institute), Bundelkhand University, Visiting professors, along with senior management of the University was also involved in teaching as per need. The university has 3 RKVY projects in horticultural and forestry crops propagation, cultivation and promotion of crops. The college is making concerted efforts to develop Forestry Blocks comprising of tree species, horticultural crops suitable for Bundelkhand Region. Apart from this, the college also developing Biodiversity park, Various Vatikas, Industrial agroforestry, Bamboo & Wood workshop, Post harvest processing unit, Tissue culture labs, various new nursery technology, value chain model for Horticultural & forestry crops to give an insight of the subject & sector to horticulture and forestry students.
In recent years college alumni selected in agricultural universities through ICAR entrance with JRF & SRF as well as state exams. Average 80 per cent students have joined higher education and rest 15 - 20% is in jobs and preparations for competitions. During 2020 and 2021 more than 60% students qualified for higher education in examination of ICAR and similarly, till 2022 out of 15 PG students, 10 students qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by ICAR, 2 SRF and 2 students qualified Pre-ARS also. Presently our students are in IARI, CAU, FRI, RPCAU, GBPUAT and many SAUS across the country.
The College of Horticulture & Forestry has been accredited for a period of 5 years in 2021 by National Agricultural Education Accreditation Board (NAEAB) of ICAR, New Delhi