The 2010 4-H Horticulture Contest will be:
Monday, July 19th at 1:00 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.

Click here to register for the 2010 Horticulture Contest

Download a guide to getting started in identifying plants

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

NJHA Photos compiled by Fran Senters, 4-H Program Assistant, Lincoln County
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

1. 9-11 Division:
   • Knowledge = 80 points
   • Identification = 200 points
   • Judging = 80 points
   • Total possible points = 360
2. 12-14 Division:
   • Knowledge = 120 points
   • Identification = 200 points
   • Judging = 80 points
   • Total possible points = 400
3. 15-19 Division:
   • Knowledge = 160 points
   • Identification = 200 points
   • Judging = 80 points
   • Total possible points = 440

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.

Congratulations to the 2009 Winners that participated in the National Junior Horticulture Association's Horticulture Judging Contest. For a full recap, read the article in Extension Online News:

Luke Hill, Grand National Award, Landscaping

Allen Monk, National Award, Production

Tyler Lannon and Michael Costa, National Awards, Team Horticultural Use Demonstration

Brittany Levine, National Award, Horticultural Use

Maegan Rizer, National Award, 4-H Demonstration

Tim Sherwood, National Award, Special 19-22 Use,
National Award, Extemporaneous Speech

Michael Costa, Grand National Award, Extemporaneous Speech

Lark Williams, National Award, Illustrated Talk

Bryan Simmons, National Award, Prepared Speech

Michael Costa, Tyler Lannon, Adam Lannon, Logan Bland, Grand National Award, Performing Arts

Adam Lannon, 8th place, Horticulture Contest, 4-H Division

Justin Simmons, First Place, Open Individual, Horticulture Contest (19-22 age)

Emily Mercer, Justin Simmons, Bryan Evans, Victoria Harman, First Place, Horticulture Contest, Open Division (19-22 age)

Kait Neeland, National Award, Photography, Slightly Edited Division

Adam Lannon, Tyler Lannon, Michael Costa, Allen Monk, First Place, Horticulture Connections

David Barkley, Alumni Horticulture Contest (75th Anniversary) 2nd Place

Larry Bass, NJHA Hall of Fame Inductee

Young America Contest (youth 14 and under):

Michael Hoxie, Grand National Award, Environmental Awareness (Ages 12-14)

Toby M. Frost, National Award, Gardening, (Ages 9 – 11)

Nazeeha Aman, Grand National Award, Gardening; National Award, Plant Propagation (Ages 9 – 14)

Rebecca Dietrich, Grand National Award, Gardening (12-14)

Nayeem Hossain, National Award, Gardening (Ages 12 – 14)

Kourtney Roberts, National Award, Gardening; National Award, Plant Propagation (Ages 12 – 14)