Horticulture

The Art of Horticulture

Horticulture came from the Latin words "hortus", meaning garden plant, and "cultura", meaning culture. Horticulture is basically defined as the science and art of growing garden plants as well as fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

The person in charge of handling these plants is called a horticulturist. A horticulturist helps improve the quality and yield of crops as well their pest resistance and nutritional value. Also, genetics is an important tool used for the growth of plants that can manufacture substances for battling different diseases like cancer and AIDS.

A lot of people think that horticulture is simply an expression or a form of art. Besides creating beautiful plants, people who know the fundamental principles of horticulture can say that they can get physical and emotional benefits from it.

Horticulture is a hobby that a lot of people really love doing. Through the years, generations of farmers, gardeners and horticulturists speak of cultivating, pruning and handling plants one of the most rewarding activities. Taking plants and growing them into different forms and sizes can be a good therapy for everyone. In addition, getting involved in horticulture can increase your knowledge in plant cycles, transplanting, pruning, pest control and fertilizing.

The study of horticulture is divided into six areas. These are the following:

• Floriculture – This includes growing and selling of flower crops.
• Landscape Horticulture – These includes the growing, selling and preservation of landscape garden plants.
• Olericulture – This includes growing and selling of vegetables.
• Pomology – This includes growing and selling of fruits.
• Postharvest Physiology – This involves maintenance of quality and preservation of different garden plants.
• Arboriculture – This is the selection, study, care and transplant of trees, vines, shrubs and other types of plants.

There are college courses that also involve horticulture. These are the following:

• Biology
• Botany
• Entomology
• Chemistry
• Genetics
• Physiology
• Garden design
• Planting design

Plant science and horticulture courses include the following:

• Post-harvest handling
• Plant breeding
• Plant pathology
• Pollination management
• Crop nutrition
• Entomology plant materials
• Plant propagation
• Tissue culture
• Crop production

Horticulture can be done in different gardens because plants are frequently grown as sprouts from nurseries. Activities performed in nurseries vary from seed preparation and cuttings to culturing full-grown plants. These plants are most of the time transferred or sold to market and ornamental gardens.

Horticulture is not just growing plants. It can be an art, profession, business, hobby and therapy for different people. To know more about horticulture, you can visit a local plant growth center near your area.