Introduction to

horticulture
Topic 1: Introduction to
horticulture
1.1 Definition and branches of horticulture (overview).
1.2 Scope and economic importance of horticulture: Local to Global
1.3 Careers and opportunities.
1.4 The overview of horticulture industry and current issues
 Learning outcomes:
🠶 At the end of this class student should be able:
🠶Define and describe about field in horticulture.
🠶To justify the scope and economic importance of horticulture:
Local to Global
🠶To know the careers and opportunities in horticulture industry.
1.1 Definition and branches of horticulture
(overview).
HORTICULTURE??
🠶 the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables,
flowers, ornamental, herbs and speciality plants.

🠶 Latin words:
🠶 HORTUS …Garden
🠶 Colere…to cultivate

🠶 Horticulture means culture or cultivation of garden

crops.

🠶 Horticulture technology is the application of science

to horticulture.
 Agronomy
vs
Horticulture
Agronomy
🠶 Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science that
deals with the study of crops and the soils in which
they grow.
🠶 Agronomists are scientists who look for ways to
increase soil productivity (in other words, to raise
more food on the same amount of soil).
🠶 They also work to improve the quality of seed and the
nutritional value of crops.
Horticulture
🠶 Horticulture is the science and art of
producing, improving, marketing, and using
fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental
plants.
🠶 A horticulturist is someone who uses
scientific knowledge to cultivate and
propagate plants, and then uses this
knowledge to provide technical information to
fruit, vegetable and flower growers as well as
farmers
 Horticulture vs. Agronomy

Horticulture Agronomy
⦿ Management and labor Intensive ⦿ Field crops
⦿ Each plant has value ⦿ Individual plants are not valuable

Plants included: Plants included:

⦿ Vegetables: spinach, broccoli ⦿ Grains: rice, corn
⦿ Fruits: papaya, banana ⦿ Plantation crops: oil
⦿ Ornamental Plants: orchids, rose ⦿ palm, rubber
 🠶 Horticulture can be group into 2 categories:
i. Ornamental (grown for display purposes)
ii. Edibles (as a food)

Ornamental kale in the foreground is edible and adds to the beauty of a

traditional flower garden. Edible plants
Branches/ Field in Horticulture
Pomology

Nursery
Olericulture
management

Ornamental &
Turf
Floriculture

Landscape
Arboriculture
horticulture
 Pomology
🠶 the science of fruit-growing (including nuts)
🠶 is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing,
processing and marketing tree grown fruits
 Viticulture
🠶 (from the Latin word for vine) is the science, production, and study of grapes
 Floriculture
🠶 Branch of ornamental horticulture concerned with growing and
marketing flowers and ornamental plants, as well as with flower
arrangement.
 Olericulture
🠶 Branch of horticulture that deals with the production, storage, processing, and marketing of
vegetables.
🠶 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
 Landscape Horticulture
🠶 The application of design and horticultural principles to placement and care of plants in the landscape
(E.g., Architecture and design, construction, management)
 Arboriculture
🠶 is the practice of establishing and
managing individual tree.
🠶 The science of arboriculture studies how
trees grow and respond to their
environments, as well as the techniques
used to cultivate them.
 Turf grass Management
🠶 The growing and study of turf grasses.
🠶 This includes home, municipal, and commercial lawns; sports turf maintenance; highway
rights-of-way; and seed and sod production.
 Nursery Management
🠶 The growing and study of trees and shrubs that are produced primarily for landscape
purposes.
 Other Branches of Horticulture
⮚ Greenhouse Management
⮚ The growing and study of plants in
greenhouses.

⮚ Interior scaping
⮚ The application of design and
horticultural principles to placement
and care of plants in indoor
environments.
Careers and opportunities in
Horticulture
 Careers in Horticulture
🠶 Graduates with a degree in Horticulture enter a broad range of challenging
and rewarding professional careers in production, management, marketing,
education and research.

🠶 Graduates often open their own business enterprises such as fruit or

vegetable production, landscape design/build and maintenance companies,
nurseries, greenhouses and garden centers.
 Field of work that graduates in Horticulture
may go:
1. Production and Sales. Operating a business or managing an orchard, vegetable farm, greenhouse, flower or plant
shop, nursery, landscaping service, garden center, or food processing firm.
2. Public Gardens. Managing landscapes and plant collections in public gardens and conservatories. This offers the
person interested in both plants and people the best of both worlds!
3. Marketing. Being involved in the wholesale or retail sale of fresh or processed fruits and vegetables, seeds, cut
flowers, house plants, floral arrangements, or nursery stock. Being a buyer of these items for a chain store, a
government or private institution, or wholesale distributor.
4. Research. Seeking ways to improve the yield and quality of fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants.
Developing methods for handling, storing, and marketing these crops. Specializing in plant breeding, plant
nutrition, plant growth regulation, or other fascinating areas of plant research.
 Field of work that graduates in Horticulture
may go:
5. Teaching: Qualified teachers of horticulture in high schools, technical schools, and universities. County extension
agents and extension specialists often teach horticulture to adults.
6. Inspection. Being an inspector of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables for government or private agencies.
Helping to maintain a high level of quality and uniformity in the produce industry.
7. Landscape Construction and Management. Installing residential and commercial landscape projects as a
landscape contractor. This includes interpretation of blueprints, estimating and bidding, sales, and installation of
plant material and hardscapes (patios, walls, arbors, etc.). Opportunities also exist to maintain these sites.
8. Landscape Design. Creating gardens with combinations of plant material and hardscapes.
9. Communications. Writing for farm and garden magazines, newspapers, television and radio can be a rewarding
field for men and women trained in horticulture.
10. Pest Management. Working with state and federal regulatory agencies, agricultural suppliers, processing
corporations, large farm organizations, and as agricultural agents.