Horticulture
Horticulture (Latin hortus,”garden”; cultura,”cultivation”), science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, shrubs, and trees. Horticulture originally meant the practice of gardening and, by extension, now means the cultivation of plants once grown in gardens. In contrast, the term agriculture, by derivation, referred to more open forms of culture such as the production of grains and grasses, known as agronomic crops, which are cultivated on a large scale. The original distinctions have been so blurred that many crops formerly considered either agronomic or horticultural are now categorized sometimes in one field, sometimes in the other, depending on the intended use of the crop. Thus a plant grown for home consumption may be called horticultural; the same plant cultivated for forage is regarded as an agronomic crop.
Horticulture includes the growing of fruit (especially tree fruits), known as pomology; production of vegetable crops, called olericulture; production of flowers, termed floriculture; and ornamental horticulture, known also as landscape gardening, which includes the maintenance and design of home grounds, public gardens and parks, private estates, botanical gardens, and recreational areas such as golf courses, football fields, and baseball diamonds.
In addition to these four divisions, horticulture is divided into three specialized commercial areas: the nursery industry, the plant-growing industry, and the seed-production industry. The nursery industry produces fruit trees for the fruit grower, and ornamental plants, particularly woody plants, for the ornamental horticulturist. The plant-growing industry supplies annual, biennial, and perennial plants to the vegetable and flower grower as well as to the ornamental horticulturist. The seed-growing industry produces the seed required for flower and vegetable growing. Bulb production, a major industry in the Netherlands, is commonly associated with both the plant-growing and seed-growing industries.
Horticulture became a major industry during the 17th century, in a period when the growth of large cities made it impractical for individuals to produce necessary garden crops on their own property. Only a few horticultural crops had been grown previously on large acreages, the most important being the grape, olive, date, and fig. The most advanced countries in the field of modern horticulture are the following: in Europe, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom; in the Americas, the United States; in Africa, South Africa; and in Australasia, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. In recent years Japan, China, and the countries of the former Soviet Union have extended their horticultural crop production. Even crops that have been grown since ancient times, such as coffee, tea, bananas, and vanilla, are presently cultivated by modern horticultural techniques.
The science of horticulture, its primary concerns being maximum yield and superior quality, utilizes other sciences such as genetics, physiology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and botany. Horticulturists trained in genetics are responsible for most of the improvements in fruits and vegetables and for the production of new varieties. They also develop new strains of plants that resist diseases and insects. Physiologists have succeeded in improving the quality of fruits and vegetables, in extending their storage life, in bettering the techniques of propagation, and in controlling weeds, nutritional deficiencies, and the amount of growth. Mathematicians appraise horticulture, with computers providing research evaluations as well as permanent data records. Chemists, particularly biochemists, have advanced the understanding of plant-growth processes, permitting horticulturists to develop plants that can utilize their environments more effectively. Biochemists, by studying such problems as winter hardiness and drought resistance, have aided in developing plants able to withstand unfavorable environmental conditions. Physicists have provided solutions to certain problems involving the crotch angles in trees; the shapes of shrubs, hedges, and screens; planting techniques; and ways in which plants can be modified to withstand heavy loads of snow and ice.
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