Horti 1- Talento

Fundamentals of Horticulture
(Horti 1)

Module 1 - 2

Name:____________________________________
Year & Course: ___________________________

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 Introduction of Horticulture

Introduction

Horticulture is the agriculture of plants, mainly

for food, materials, comfort and beauty for
decoration.[1] Horticulturists apply knowledge,
skills, and technologies to grow intensively
produced plants for human food and non- plant
growth, yields, quality, nutritional value and
resistance to insects, diseases and
environmental stresses. They food uses and for
personal or social needs. Their work
involves plant propagation and cultivation with
the aim of improving work as gardeners,
growers, therapists, designers, and technical
advisors in the food and non-food sectors of
horticulture.

According to American horticulturist Liberty Hyde Bailey, "Horticulture is the growing of

flowers, fruits and vegetables, and of plants for ornament and fancy."[5] A more precise definition can be
given "The cultivation, processing, and sale of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and ornamental plants as well as
many additional services".[6] It also includes plant conservation, landscape restoration, soil
management, landscape and garden design, construction and maintenance, and arboriculture. In contrast
to agriculture, horticulture does not include large-scale crop production or animal husbandry. At present,
horticulture can be defined as the science and technique of production, processing and merchandising of
fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations medicinal and aromatic crops.

Learning Objectives:
•Learn principal characteristics of green plants, their structures, and common horticultural terminology.

•Understand general vegetative and reproductive growth processes and factors that influence them.

•Learn classic applications of fundamental horticultural knowledge.

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Horticulture is a science and technique of production, processing and merchandizing of fruits,
vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants.

The word horticulture comes from two Latin words “hortus” and “colere”, which means garden culture.
Definition:

 Horticulture is a branch of agriculture that deals with certain features involving utilization of
fruits, vegetables, flowers and other plants.
 Horticulture is the art, science and practice of growing and maintaining plants in different types
of environment.
 It involves the propagation, cultivation and processing of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices,
ornamental plants and flowers.
 Deals with production and processing of fruits, vegetables, ornamentals plants, spices, herbs and
flowers.
 Horticulture involves intensive cultural practices where plants or species are usually given
individual attention.
 The practice of horticulture is made up of different disciplines. Each discipline is called a branch;
and each branch performs a specific set functions.
 There are branches of horticulture that deal with flowers, seeds, turf and lawns, fruits, trees,
worms, fishes, wines, silk, garden trails and much more.
 India is the seventh largest country in the world with a total geographical area of 328.73 m ha
and has second largest population 121crores (2011), after China.
 The total arable land available is 144 million hectare of which 70% is under rainfed cultivation.
 Around 55-60 % of the total population depends on agriculture and allied activities.
 Horticulture crops constitute a significant portion of total agricultural production in the country.
 The term HORTICULTURE is derived from two Latin words - ―HORTUS‖ meaning
--GARDEN‟ and ―CULTURA‖ meaning ‗CULTIVATION‟.
 In ancient days the gardens had protected enclosures with high walls or similar structures
surrounding the houses.
 The enclosed places were used to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants.
Therefore, in original sense “Horticulture refers to cultivation of garden plants within protected
enclosures”.

BRANCHES OF HORTICULTURE
 Horticulture is a wide field which includes a great variety and diversity of crops.
 The science of horticulture can be divided into several branches depending upon the crops it deals with.
Following are the branches of horticulture.

i. Pomology : study of fruit crops.

ii. Olericulture : cultivation of vegetables.
iii. Floriculture : cultivation of flower crops.
iv. Plantation crops : cultivation of coconut, arecanut, rubber, coffee, tea, etc.
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 v. Spices crops : cultivation of cardamom, pepper, nutmeg etc.
vi. Medicinal and aromatic crops: cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops.
vii. Post harvest technology: deals with post harvest handling, grading, packaging, storage processing,
value addition, marketing etc, of horticulture crops.
viii. Plant propagation : deals with propagation of plants.

Activity 1

Explain the following questions and give an example.

1.For your own realization, what horticulture means?

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2.Why horticulturist need intensive knowledge and skills in studying plants?
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3.Give some horticultural plants used for decoration.
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1. FRUIT CROPS: (Pomology)

Pomology is a branch of botany that studies fruit and its cultivation. The term fruticulture—introduced from
Romance languages (all of whose incarnations of the term descend from Latin fructus and cultura)—is also used.

Pomological research is mainly focused on the development, enhancement, cultivation and physiological studies
of fruit trees. The goals of fruit tree improvement include enhancement of fruit quality, regulation of production
periods, and reduction of production cost. One involved in the science of pomology is called a pomologist

India is the second largest producer of fruits after Brazil.

A large variety of fruit crops are grown in India. Of these, mango, banana, citrus, papaya, guava, pineapple,
sapota, jackfruit, litchi, grapes, apple, pear, peach, plum, walnut etc. are the important ones.
India accounts for 10 per cent of the total world production of fruits.
It leads the world in the production of mango, banana, sapota and acid lime besides recording highest
productivity in grape.
The leading fruit growing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

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2.

VEGETABLE CROPS: (Olericulture)

Olericulture is the science of vegetable growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody (herbaceous)
plants for food.
Olericulture is the production of plants for use of the edible parts.

Vegetable crops can be classified into nine major

categories:
 Potherbs and greens – spinach and collards
 Salad crops – lettuce, celery
 Cole crops – cabbage and cauliflower
 Root crops (tubers) – potatoes, beets,
carrots, radishes
 Bulb crops – onions, leeks
 Legumes – beans, peas
 Cucurbits – melons, squash, cucumber
 Solanaceous crops – tomatoes, peppers
potatoes Sweet corn

Olericulture deals with the production, storage, processing and marketing of vegetables. It encompasses
crop establishment, including cultivar selection, seedbed preparation and establishment of vegetable
crops by seed and transplants.

It also includes maintenance and care of vegetable crops as well commercial and non-traditional
vegetable crop production including organic gardening and organic farming; sustainable agriculture and
horticulture; hydroponics; and biotechnology.
 More than 40 vegetables belonging to Solanaceaeous, cucurbitaceous, leguminous, cruciferous,
root crops and leafy vegetables are grown in Indian tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions.

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  Important vegetables grown in India are onion, tomato, potato, brinjal, peas, beans, okra, chilli,
cabbage, cauliflower, bottle gourd, cucumber, watermelon, carrot, radish etc.
 India ranks second in vegetable production next to China w.r.t. area and production contributing
13.38 % to the total world production.
 India occupies first position in cauliflower, second in Onion, third in cabbage in the world.
 West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka are the important states for
horticultural crop production.

Differences between fruits and vegetables

SI No. Vegetables X Fruits

Most of the vegetables : Fruit plants are

1. are annuals perennial in nature

Mostly majority of : Fruit plant are sexually

2. them are sexually and asexually
propagated propagated

Cultivation of : Fruit plants require

3. vegetable is seasonal special practices like
and special techniques training and pruning
like pruning and and are required
training are generally seasonally.
not required

Vegetable plants are : Fruit plants are

4. generally non-woody generally woody in
nature

All parts of the plant : Only fruit is edible but

5. are edible sometimes false fruit
also edible (eg. Fleshy
thalamus of apple)

Generally consumed : Mostly consumed raw

6. after cooking after ripening

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 Write the Scientific name of the following common vegetable crops. And classify it.

(Write it correctly.)

Activity 2

Write the SCIENTIFIC NAME of the following common crops and classify it according to their category.

Write it clearly and proper writing of Scientific name

Example. Squash: Cucurbita maxima - - Cucurbits

1. Carrots : _________________________________________
2. Celery: _________________________________________
3. Cauliflower: ______________________________________
4. Cabbage: ________________________________________
5. Cucumber: _______________________________________
6. Radish: __________________________________________
7. Bell pepper: ______________________________________
8. Spinach : ________________________________________
9. Broccoli :________________________________________
10. Beet: ___________________________________________
11. Leek: ___________________________________________
12. Collard: _________________________________________
13. Melon: _________________________________________
14. Onion __________________________________________
15. Cassava: _________________________________________

3. FLORICULTURE:

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 Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of
flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The
development, via plant breeding, of new varieties is a major occupation of floriculturists.

Floriculture crops include bedding plants, houseplants, flowering garden and pot plants, cut
cultivated greens, and cut flowers. As distinguished from nursery crops, floriculture crops are generally
herbaceous. Bedding and garden plants consist of young flowering plants (annuals and perennials) and
vegetable plants. They are grown in cell packs (in flats or trays), in pots, or in hanging baskets, usually
inside a controlled environment, and sold largely for gardens and landscaping. Pelargonium
("geraniums"), Impatiens ("busy lizzies"), and Petunia are the best-selling bedding plants. The many
cultivars of Chrysanthemum are the major perennial garden plant in the United States.

Flowering plants are largely sold in pots for indoor use. The major flowering plants are
poinsettias, orchids, florist chrysanthemums, and finished florist azaleas. Foliage plants are also sold in
pots and hanging baskets for indoor and patio use, including larger specimens for office, hotel, and
restaurant interiors.

Cut flowers are usually sold in bunches or as bouquets with cut foliage. The production of cut
flowers is specifically known as the cut flower industry. Farming flowers and foliage employs special
aspects of floriculture, such as spacing, training and pruning plants for optimal flower harvest; and post-
harvest treatment such as chemical treatments, storage, preservation and packaging. In Australia and the
United States some species are harvested from the wild for the cut flower market.

Commercial cultivation of cut flowers like, rose, orchids, gladiolus, carnation, anthurium, gerbera is also
being done.
In India, flower cultivation is being practiced since ages.
It is an important/integral part of socio-cultural and religious life of Indian people.
It has taken a shape of industry in recent years.
India is known for growing traditional flowers such as jasmine, marigold, chrysanthemum, tuberose,
crossandra, aster, etc.

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Floriculture sample

Activity 3

Give some examples of the following floricultural Crop which used for the following. ( 5
Sample each)
1. Bedding plants: ______________________________________________________
2. Flowering plants______________________________________________________
3. Cut flower
plant_______________________________________________________
4. Folieage plans:________________________________________________________
5. House plants:_________________________________________________________

4. PLANTATION CROPS:

A plantation is a large-scale estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming
that specializes in cash crops. The crops that are grown include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane,
opium, sisal, oil seeds, oil palms, fruits, rubber trees and forest trees. Protectionist policies and natural
comparative advantage have sometimes contributed to determining where plantations are located

Industrial plantations are actively managed for the commercial production of forest products.
Industrial plantations are usually large-scale. Individual blocks are usually even-aged and often consist
of just one or two species. These species can be exotic or indigenous. The plants used for the plantation
are often genetically altered for desired traits such as growth and resistance to pests and diseases in
general and specific traits, for example in the case of timber species, volumic wood production and stem
straightness.

Forest genetic resources are the basis for genetic alteration. Selected individuals grown in seed
orchards are a good source for seeds to develop adequate planting material. Wood production on a tree
plantation is generally higher than that of natural forests. While forests managed for wood production
commonly yield between 1 and 3 cubic meters per hectare per year, plantations of fast-growing species
commonly yield between 20 and 30 cubic meters or more per hectare annually; a Grand Fir plantation at
in Scotland has a growth rate of 34 cubic meters per hectare per year , and Monterey Pine plantations in
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 southern Australia can yield up to 40 cubic meters per hectare per year . In 2000, while plantations
accounted for 5% of global forest, it is estimated that they supplied about 35% of the world's
roundwoods

This is one of the important sectors contributing about Rs.7,500 crores of export earnings.
The major plantation crops include coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, tea coffee, rubber cocoa, betel vine,
vanilla etc.
The leading states are Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam etc.

The palm Plantation in Israel The Pine plantation In United states

Pineapple plantation in the Philippines Abaca plantation in the philippines

5. SPICES:

A spices is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring
food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for
flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are sometimes used in medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics or perfume
production.

Spices are primarily used as food flavoring. They are also used to perfume cosmetics and incense. At
various periods, many spices have been believed to have medicinal value. Finally, since they are

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 expensive, rare, and exotic commodities, their conspicuous consumption has often been a symbol of
wealth and social class.

It is often claimed that spices were used either as food preservatives or to mask the taste of spoiled meat,
especially in the Middle Ages. In fact, spices are rather ineffective as preservatives as compared to
salting, smoking, pickling, or drying, and are ineffective in covering the taste of spoiled meat. Moreover,
spices have always been comparatively expensive: in 15th century Oxford, a whole pig cost about the
same as a pound of the cheapest spice, pepper. There is also no evidence of such use from contemporary
cookbooks: "Old cookbooks make it clear that spices weren't used as a preservative. They typically
suggest adding spices toward the end of the cooking process, where they could have no preservative
effect whatsoever." In fact, Cristoforo di Messisbugo suggested in the 16th century that pepper may
speed up spoilage.

Though some spices have antimicrobial properties in vitro, pepper—by far the most common spice—is
relatively ineffective, and in any case, salt, which is far cheaper, is also far more effective.

They constitute an important group of horticulture crops and are defined as vegetable products or mixture
thereof,
Free from extraneous matter used for flavoring, seasoning and imparting aroma in foods.
India is known as home of spices producing a wide variety of spices like black pepper, cardamom, ginger,
turmeric, chilli, Coriander etc.
Major spice producing states are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa,
Tamil Nadu etc.

Activity 4

1. Do you agree that spices are ineffective as preservatives as compared to salting? If yes Why? If no
Why?
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 ____________________________________________________________________________________
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2. What kind of spices did you used in your home regularly ? and why it is?
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6. MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS:

Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine
practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for functions including
defense against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals. Numerous phytochemicals with potential or
established biological activity have been identified. However, since a single plant contains widely diverse
phytochemicals, the effects of using a whole plant as medicine are uncertain. Further, the phytochemical content
and pharmacological actions, if any, of many plants having medicinal potential remain assessed by rigorous
scientific research to define efficacy and safety.

Medicinal plants may provide three main kinds of benefit: health benefits to the people who consume
them as medicines; financial benefits to people who harvest, process, and distribute them for sale; and society-
wide benefits, such as job opportunities, taxation income, and a healthier labour force.[35] However, development
of plants or extracts having potential medicinal uses is blunted by weak scientific evidence, poor practices in the
process of drug development, and insufficient financing.

Aromatic plants are those that contain aromatic compounds – basically essential oils that are volatile at room
temperature. These essential oils are odorous, volatile, hydrophobic and highly concentrated compounds. They
can be obtained from flowers, buds, seeds, leaves, twigs, bark, wood, fruits and roots

Sample aromatic plants:

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 LAUREL MINT

India has diverse collection of medicinal and aromatic plants species distributed throughout the country.
It has more than 9,500 species with medicinal properties.
Demand for these crops is increasing progressively in both domestic and export markets.
Important medicinal plants are Isabgol, Senna, Opium poppy, Periwinkle, Coleus, Ashwagandha, etc. and
aromatic plants are Japanese mint, Lemon grass, Citronella, Davana, Patchouli et

7. FEATURES OF HORTICULTURE IN GENERAL

• Horticultural produces are mostly utilized in the fresh state and are highly perishable nature.
• Horticultural crops need intensive cultivation, requires large input of capital, labour and technology per unit
area.
• Cultural operations like propagation, training, pruning and harvesting are skilled and specific to horticultural
crops.
• Horticultural produce are rich sources of vitamins and minerals and alkaloids.
• Aesthetic satisfaction is an exclusive phenomenon to horticultural science.

Summary/ Key points

In summary, horticultural science exists to build and maintain human knowledge, skills
and biological resources in support of horticulture industry and environment enhancement.

Horticultural scientists explore and explain the many contributions of plants to a healthy
environment for human life and well-being.

The term horticulture is derived from two latin words - ―hortus‖ meaning ‗garden‟ and
―cultura‖ meaning ‗cultivation‟.

Horticulture have several branches depending upon the crops it deals with

1. Pomology : study of fruit crops.

2. Olericulture : cultivation of vegetables.
3. Floriculture : cultivation of flower crops.
4. . Plantation crops : cultivation of coconut, arecanut, rubber, coffee, tea, etc.
5. Spices crops : cultivation of cardamom, pepper, nutmeg etc.
6. . Medicinal and aromatic crops: cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops.
7. Post harvest technology: deals with post harvest handling, grading, packaging, storage processing,
value addition, marketing etc, of horticulture crops.
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8. Plant propagation : deals with propagation of plants.

End of module Assessment (EMA

Find the medicinal value or uses of the following medicinal plants.

1. Feverfew 6. Mint
2. Garlic; 7. Oregano
3. Ginger; 8. Turmeric
4. Gingko; 9. Urtica
5. Ginseng; 10. Parsley

Looking ahead

Congratulations!! You did it until the end of this module!!

The hardest step is the first, which you’ve taken.
Now it’s time to leave your comfort zone and move on to the next level.

Module evaluation

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References:.
 Basham, C.W. Laboratory Activities in Horticulture. Kendall/Hunt. Duduque, lowa, 1976.
 Chapman S. R and L.P. Carter; Crop production, principles and practices, Freeman. Sam Francesco,
1976.
 R. Gordon Halfacre, Ph.D., M.L.A . Associate professor of Horticulture, Clemson University.

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