4-H Plant and Soils...Growing NC Youth in Crop, Horticulture and Soil Science

Horticulture Judging and Identification Contest

The 2009 4-H Horticulture Contest will be:
Monday, July 20th at 1:30 PM at Kilgore Hall, NC State University

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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.

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

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

Click here to register for the 2009 Horticulture Contest

The plants in the identification test could include the whole plant or in many cases only part of the plant. For Example, above, radish seeds are used. Some samples can be quite challenging! Consider the brazil nut above.

4-H Judging Manuals

Penn State 4-H Judging

Oklahoma State 4-H Judging

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

Judging
Specimens of each group of plants within the commodity groups will be judged on the basis of condition, quality, uniformity, true-to-type, and size. The commodity groups to be identified/judged include fruits and nuts, vegetables and herbs, flowering and indoor plants and woody ornamentals. Plates in each class will be ranked from first to last. Oral reasons will not be required of contestants. Each class is worth 10 points.

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.

Good Websites for Plant Identification

NC State University 4-H Plant Identification

Cornell University

University of Florida 4-H
Fruits & Nuts
Flowers & Foliage Plants
Vegetables
Ornamentals

Purdue University

Oklahoma State University

Oregon State University

University of Connecticut

Total Possible Points

9-11 Division:
- Knowledge = 80 points
- Identification = 200 points
- Judging = 80 points
- Total possible points = 360
12-14 Division:
- Knowledge = 120 points
- Identification = 200 points
- Judging = 80 points
- Total possible points = 400
15-19 Division:
- Knowledge = 160 points
- Identification = 200 points
- Judging = 80 points
- Total possible points = 440

Congratulations to the 2008 Winners that participated in the National Junior Horticulture Association's Horticulture Judging Contest:

Caitlin Davis, Stokes County, 1st place, Honors
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Dakota Starr, Wake County, 2nd place, Honors
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Pasquotank/Camden County Team, 1st place, Open Division
Team Members: Oliver Manzer, Michael Costa, Logan Bland and Tyler Lannon
Coached by Darlene Lannon and Roberta Manzer
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Brunswick County Team, 5th place, 4-H Division
Team Members: Justin Simmons, Victoria Harman, Emily Mercer, Bryan Evans; Coached by David Barkley

Additional Notes:
The Senior Division (ages 15-19) of the North Carolina Horticulture Identification and Judging Contest is aligned with the National Junior Horticultural Association contest. That is, the NC contest follows the same format as NJHA. There are also further competition opportunities for youth that would like to attend NJHA, but did not receive the scholarships. Teams could compete as an open team or as an individual, but would lose eligibility to compete as a 4-H team the following years.For additional information on the NJHA contest rules and regulations visit: http://njha.org/projects_hortid_rules.html.

Special Consideration:
FFA teams are welcome to participate in the NC 4-H Horticulture Identification and Judging Contest. Their participation is subject to 4-H status and if the team wins, they will compete at NJHA as a 4-H team. FFA teams are welcome to compete at NJHA in the FFA category; however, there is presently no scholarship funding through the NC 4-H Horticulture Contest to send them as such. For further information, contact Liz Driscoll, 4-H Specialist, Crops, Horticulture and Soil Science.

Created by Liz Driscoll
NC State University
Departments of Crop, Horticulture, Soil Science and 4-H
218 Kilgore Hall, Box 7609
Raleigh, NC 27513-7609
(919) 513-7346
liz_driscoll@ncsu.edu