The 2008 Horticulture Judging and Identification Contest will be held:
Monday, July 21, 1:30 PM

At the Ruby McSwain Education Center
at the JC Raulston Arboretum

To register for the 2008 Horticulture Contest click here!

...Did you know that begonias are a tart and tasty snack?
...Or that a form of aspirin first came from willow trees?
...Have you ever seen basil seeds germinate before your eyes?

The Horticulture Judging and Identification Contest is a great way to introduce the very cool stories that plants are hoping to tell. This contest is a training program concerned with teaching youth to recognize and identify some of the most important horticultural crops, to learn criteria influencing quality and to be able to answer questions and solve problems relating to the art and science of horticulture. There are three portions of the test, including knowledge, judging and identification.

Youth ages 9-19 are welcome to participate in the horticulture contest at state congress. Youth ages 9-19 can compete individually, but it is required that youth 15-19 form a team of 3-4 indidividuals to be eligible to continue on and compete at the National Finals at the National Junior Horticultural Association annual convention as a 4-H team. Individual state winners, ages 15-19, are welcome to compete at NJHA, but currently there is no funding to support their national efforts. Team members must be 15 years old by December 31 of the current year to compete in the national contest. The highest total county score is declared the state winner. The winning team members each receive a $150 scholarship towards expenses to the NJHA Convention. The three highest scoring individuals become the official team.

Any youth interested in just trying out the Horticulture Contest are welcome to attend and either take it as a practice or simply to obseve.

Contest Format

Knowledge
The knowlege section tests youth's understanding of basic horticulture principles. Questions that form the knowledge test come from the NJHA study manual or download it here. The challenge of the questions will be reflective of the appropriate age division. Each question is worth 2 points.

9-11 Division: Youth will take a 40 question, true-false, multiple choice test

12-14 Division: Youth will take a 60 question, true-false, multiple choice test

15-19 Division: Youth will take a 80 question, true-false, multiple choice test, will cover information from the entire manual.

Sample Senior Level Test

The plants in the identification test could include the whole plant or in many cases only part of the plant. For Example, above, garlic is shown as the whole plant. Below, radish seeds are used.

Identification
The identification section will include samples will from each of the four commodity groups (Flowers and Indoor Plants, Vegetables, Landscape Ornamentals, and Fruits, Nuts and Beries). Each commodity groups will be on a separate table. participants will have a complete list of all items which could potentially appear. Specimens may be alive or preserved plant parts such as, but not limited to: stems, twigs, leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, roots, bulbs, tubers, or plant products. Samples for each age division will also be reflective of their age ability. Each sample is worth 2 points.

9-11 Division: Youth will identify 100 samples, 25 from each commodity group.

12-14 Division: Youth will identify 100 samples, 25 from each commodity group.

15-19 Division: Youth will identify 100 samples, 25 from each commodity group.

Download a guide to getting started in identifying plants

Identification Characteristics, contributed by Carol Norden, Wake Co.
Flowers and Indoor Plants
Vegetables
Fruits and Nuts
Landscape Ornamentals

• 9-11 Division: Youth will judge 8 classes of four (4) plates, 2 classes from each of the four commodity groups.
• 12-14 Division: Youth will judge 8 classes of four (4) plates, 2 classes from each of the four commodity groups.
• 15-19 Division: Youth will judge 8 classes of four (4) plates, 2 classes from each of the four commodity groups.