The sources of scientific horticulture as well as of all agricultural sciences in Lithuania are in Dotnuva. In 1924 there was started vegetable breeding. An experimental station for horticultural crops was founded in 1938 and moved to Vytėnai near Kaunas in 1940.
In 1956 breeding tests were transferred from Dotnuva to Vytėnai. In 1968 Vytėnai Experimental Station was moved to a new experimental site in Babtai. In 1987 the experimental station was reorganized into the Lithuanian Institute of Horticulture and granted state research institution status in 1992. Since January 1, 2010, Lithuanian Horticulture Institute has become a branch of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry.