Maharana Pratap Horticultural University (MHU) is a state public university in Karnal, Haryana, India, dedicated to higher education, research and extension in the field of horticulture. It is named after the sixteenth-century Mewar ruler Maharana Pratap, and is among the few universities in India established with an exclusive focus on horticultural sciences.
| Name | Maharana Pratap Horticultural University |
|---|---|
| Type | State public university |
| Discipline focus | Horticulture |
| Location | Karnal, Haryana, India |
| Country | India |
Haryana is one of the leading agricultural states in northern India and has a sizeable share of national production in fruits, vegetables, flowers, mushrooms, and spices. To support this sector with focused academic and research infrastructure, the Government of Haryana established a dedicated horticultural university, separating horticultural education from the broader remit of the existing agricultural university in Hisar. The institution is headquartered in Karnal, a district in north-central Haryana known for its agricultural research ecosystem, including the National Dairy Research Institute and the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research.
As a state horticultural university, MHU's mandate broadly covers:
The creation of a separate horticultural university reflects a wider trend in India, where states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have established stand-alone horticultural universities to give the sector dedicated academic attention. For Haryana, MHU is intended to strengthen the state's diversification away from the wheat–rice cropping pattern by promoting high-value horticultural crops, protected cultivation, and value addition.