历史沿革
普渡大学园艺与景观建筑系的前身可追溯到 1884 年——彼时 James Troop 教授被聘为园艺学与昆虫学教授，同时承担林学、经济植物学与兽医学的教学工作。1905 年州财政拨款扩大了试验规模；1910 年印第安纳州 Maish 法案再拨款资助园艺研究，并划拨十六英亩土地建为教学与试验基地，1911 年首批温室设施投用。1912 年园艺与昆虫学正式分立，Troop 转任昆虫学系主任，C. G. Woodbury 出任首任园艺系主任；1917 年 Woodbury 出任农业试验站站长后，Laurenz Greene 继任。1914 年 Moses Dunn 遗赠的 400 英亩农场为后来的田间研究奠定了基础。二十世纪上半叶，蔬菜、甜玉米与番茄的罐头品种选育、切花月季的温室栽培逐步纳入研究范围，园艺系逐渐成长为美国中西部最具影响力的园艺学人才培养与科研机构之一；景观建筑方向加入后系名相应扩展为「园艺与景观建筑系」（Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture，简称 HLA），形成了今日园艺学、景观建筑学、植物生物学与草坪学四大方向并行的格局，2026 年 4 月学校任命植物病理学教授 Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi 出任新任系主任。
学科与学位项目
本系下设园艺学（Horticulture）与景观建筑学（Landscape Architecture）两个本科专业方向，面向本科生提供系统的课堂讲授、设计 studio、田间实习与海外学习模块——学生可在近期翻新的景观建筑工作室、一流实验室与温室群、Daniel 草坪研究与诊断中心以及 Purdue Student Farm 获得一线动手训练。研究生阶段则覆盖园艺学、植物生物学、景观建筑学多个硕士与博士方向；课程兼顾科学基础、设计能力与产业实践，既包含植物生理、遗传育种、分子生物等基础学科，也涵盖景观历史、设计 studio、城市设计与专业实习课，并通过与英国景观历史研究项目合作的「In the English Landscape」等海外教学模块为学生提供跨文化的景观史与设计现场训练；许多毕业生已在美国绝大多数园艺系及多国高校任教，或在企业研发机构担任科学家。
研究方向与设施
本系研究主题涵盖植物对逆境的响应机制、新型园艺作物的栽培与推广、杂草科学防控、景观可持续设计、草坪与都市农业新技术，以及植物特有次生代谢物的高效合成路径等；代表性成果包括与美国国家航空航天局合作的太空真菌培养（mycoponics）研究——旨在为宇航员在月面与深空任务中提供可持续的蛋白质与膳食来源——以及利用植物稀有代谢通路合成高价值化合物的分子生物学工作，2026 年共有 Krishna Nemali、Stephen Meyers 两位副教授获得 Fulbright 学者奖资助，将研究延伸至印度与澳大利亚等不同气候带。教学设施方面，1998 年 3 月开放的植物生长中心下设 25 间温室共 34,800 平方英尺，配有 2 间空调生长室、17 台生长箱、5 台步入式冷藏柜、组织培养实验室以及 4,500 平方英尺的操作与办公空间；田间设施则包括 Meigs 教学研究农场、TPAC 田间试验基地、Daniel 草坪研究与诊断中心，以及以已故著名园艺学家 Jules Janick 教授命名的 Jules Janick Horticulture Garden，构成系统的室内—田间研究链条。
推广服务与公众参与
本系推广项目长期面向印第安纳州及周边中西部地区的园艺爱好者、家庭种植者、商业种植户与绿色产业从业者，提供基于科学证据、易于理解的实操指导——推广体系覆盖家庭园艺、Master Gardener 志愿者培训、受控环境农业、蔬菜与瓜类作物、果园、薄荷、草坪、苗圃与景观、园艺市场营销等九个方向，由各领域专家主导，通过出版物、工作坊、研讨会与音像材料服务多元化的园艺受众；其中 Purdue Extension Master Gardener 项目将园艺爱好者培训为志愿者，协助推广项目在印第安纳州各社区开展家庭园艺教育，蔬菜与瓜类作物、果树、薄荷等专项则依托研究关系为印第安纳州的种植者提供高产、可持续与盈利方面的技术与市场信息，园艺市场营销方向由 Ariana Torres 博士领衔，聚焦市场分析、消费者行为与价值链策略。
新任系主任与近期动态
2026 年 4 月，植物病理学教授 Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi 出任普渡大学园艺与景观建筑系新任系主任，成为该系最新的学术带头人；同年景观建筑方向副教授 Yiwei Huang 获得两项早期职业生涯教学奖，表彰其在教学创新与跨文化设计训练方面的贡献。该系 2026 年其他研究动态还包括 Mushrooms in Space（太空菌菇）项目、世纪花（century plant）开花记录、龙舌兰景观空间营造以及「In the English Landscape」英国景观学习项目等；现有全职教研人员覆盖园艺、景观建筑、植物生物学与草坪学四大方向，推广项目每年服务上万名印第安纳州园艺爱好者，2026 年共有两位副教授获 Fulbright 学者奖资助。
Historical Evolution
The Department’s roots reach back to 1884, when Professor James Troop was appointed as the first Professor of Horticulture and Entomology; he also taught forestry, economic botany and veterinary science. State funding broadened the research scope in 1905; the 1910 Maish Act provided further resources, sixteen acres were acquired for instruction and trial plots, and the first station greenhouses were placed in service in 1911. In 1912 horticulture and entomology were formally separated, with Troop heading the Department of Entomology and C. G. Woodbury becoming the first head of the Department of Horticulture; Laurenz Greene succeeded Woodbury in 1917. The 400-acre Dunn farm, bequeathed by Moses Dunn in 1914, anchored the field-research program. Over the first half of the twentieth century the Department gradually incorporated vegetable, sweet-corn, tomato and greenhouse-rose breeding into its research portfolio, growing into one of the most influential horticultural teaching and research institutions in the U.S. Midwest. With the addition of landscape architecture, the Department adopted its current name — the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (HLA) — and now spans four core areas: horticulture, landscape architecture, plant biology and turfgrass science; in April 2026 the university appointed plant pathology professor Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi as the new department head.
Academic Disciplines and Degree Programs
The Department offers two undergraduate concentrations — Horticulture and Landscape Architecture — that combine classroom instruction, design studios, field practica and study-abroad modules, and students gain hands-on experience in the recently renovated landscape-architecture studios, the first-class laboratories and greenhouses, the Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center, and the Purdue Student Farm. At the graduate level the Department offers master and doctoral tracks across horticulture, plant biology and landscape architecture; the curriculum balances scientific foundations, design capability and industry practice, with coursework ranging from plant physiology, genetics, breeding and molecular biology to landscape history, design studios, urban-design studios and a professional-practice seminar. The “In the English Landscape” study-abroad module, taught jointly with English landscape-history partners, provides cross-cultural exposure to landscape heritage and design sites; alumni of these programs hold faculty positions at most horticulture departments in the United States and at numerous universities abroad, as well as research posts in industry.
Research Directions and Facilities
Research spans plant responses to stress, cultivation and marketing of new horticultural crops, weed science, sustainable landscape design, turfgrass and urban-agriculture technologies, and molecular pathways for high-value plant secondary metabolites. Recent highlights include a NASA-partnered mycoponics project to cultivate fungi for deep-space and lunar missions, providing sustainable protein and food sources for astronauts, and a study identifying a rare plant pathway used to produce a valuable chemical compound; in 2026 two associate professors — Krishna Nemali and Stephen Meyers — received Fulbright Fellowships, extending their research into new climates in India and Australia. Department facilities include the Plant Growth Facility, opened in March 1998, which houses 25 greenhouse rooms totaling 34,800 square feet, two air-conditioned growth rooms, 17 growth chambers, five walk-in coolers, a tissue-culture laboratory, and 4,500 square feet of headhouse space; additional field and laboratory resources include the Meigs Research Farm, the TPAC field site, the Plant Growth Chamber Center, and the Jules Janick Horticulture Garden, named in honor of the late professor Jules Janick.
Extension Services and Public Engagement
The Extension program provides science-based, timely and regionally tailored resources to home gardeners, growers, and green-industry professionals across Indiana and the broader Midwest, with programming spanning nine areas — Home Yard and Garden, the Extension Master Gardener volunteer program, Controlled Environment Agriculture, Vegetable and Melon Crops, Fruit Crops, Mint, Turfgrass, Nursery and Landscape, and Horticulture Business and Marketing — reaching a diverse audience through publications, workshops, seminars and audiovisual materials. The Purdue Extension Master Gardener program trains gardening enthusiasts as volunteers to assist with home-horticulture education across Indiana communities, while the Vegetable and Melon Crops, Fruit Crops, and Mint programs deliver production, sustainability and profitability guidance to Indiana growers; the Horticulture Business and Marketing team, led by Dr. Ariana Torres, focuses on market analysis, consumer behavior and value-chain strategy for horticultural enterprises.
New Department Head and Recent Developments
In April 2026 plant pathology professor Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi was appointed as the new head of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University; in 2026 landscape-architecture associate professor Yiwei Huang received two early-career teaching awards recognizing innovation and excellence. Other recent HLA news includes the Mushrooms-in-Space project, the bloom of a century plant, death-bloom landscape installations, and the English landscape study-abroad program. As of 2026 the Department has faculty spanning horticulture, landscape architecture, plant biology and turfgrass; its Extension program serves tens of thousands of Indiana gardeners each year; and two of its associate professors hold 2026 Fulbright Fellowships.
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