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The Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture: In a nut shell Floriculture and Landscaping used to be taught within the domain of Horticulture at the onset in 1952 at the State Agriculture College, Ranikuthia 3-year B.Sc. (Ag.) degree course, affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It was then continued at Mohanpur from 1958 and was named “Birla College of Agriculture”. This college was merged with the University of Kalyani as the Faculty of Agriculture in 1960 and a separate department of Horticulture with Floriculture and Landscaping as a subject came into being. Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya was established on the 1st of September,1974 through bifurcation from the University of Kalyani and concomitant upgradation of the then Faculty of Agriculture. Fillip to Floriculture research was given with the establishment of a centre of the All India Coordinated Floriculture Improvement Project of the I.C.A.R. in 1974 . After 36 years of existence in Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya as a specialized subject in the department of Horticulture, a full-fledged Department of Floriculture and Landscaping came into existence in 1996 with the upgradation of the department of Horticulture to the level of Faculty of Horticulture, which consisted of five separate departments. Currently Floriculture and Landscaping renamed as Floriculture and Landscape Architecture as per suggestion of the Fifth Deans’ Committee Meeting held in 2017.

There is an urgent need to develop infrastructure for Basic and Strategic Research including molecular flower breeding & bio-technology, optimization of greenhouse environment, high yielding varieties of traditional & modern flowers, protocols for extraction of essential oils, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, natural dyes, etc, drying & dehydration techniques including potpourris. The time tested and socially accepted first and second generation frontier technologies will be made use of to faster breeding for consumer preferences, to impart resistance to biotic stresses especially in crops that have shown low probability of success through traditional breeding.
In brief, the followings are the priority areas:

• Technological back up for the existing and anticipated flower cultivation in terms of new and improved varieties, production technology for open field and hi-tech production systems, plant protection and post harvest management for domestic and export markets.
• Breeding for exportable varieties including designer flowers and tolerance/resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses using molecular breeding and advanced techniques.
• Devising value addition protocols for essential oils, dry flowers, pigments and natural dyes for venturing into these areas.
• Laying focus on ornamental plant nurseries, consultancy for landscaping, eco-tourism and pot plant business
• Identification, domestication and commercialization of native flowers for creating niche markets.
• Greenhouse designs for different regions and their construction with cheaper alternatives.
• Market intelligence for providing information on demand, supply and price (domestic and international markets) of various flower commodities.
• Diversity of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L) through RAPD marker
• In vitro protocol Standardization in Marigold and rawvolfia
• In vitro and in vivo mutagenesis study in marigold and tuberose