Horticulture and Disease
- [Medicinal Plants and Herbs (The Chelsea Physic Garden has cultivated medicinal plants since 1673. The plant shown here is montbretia (crocosmia aurea), used as a remedy for dysenter) - Wikipedia]
- Overview
Horticulture is the science and art of the development, sustainable production, marketing and use of high-value, intensively grown food and ornamental plants.
Horticultural crops are diverse and include:
- Annual and perennial species
- Fruits and vegetables
- Indoor plants
- Landscape plants
Horticulture also contributes to the quality of life, beauty, sustainability and restoration of our environment and human condition. Plants, crops and green spaces sustain and enrich our lives by providing nutritious food, beautifying our homes and communities, and reducing our carbon footprint.
- Horticulture: Modern Applied Plant Science
Horticulture, a branch of plant farming concerned with horticultural crops, usually fruits, vegetables and ornamentals.
As a general term, horticulture covers all forms of garden management, but in everyday use it refers to intensive commercial production. In terms of scale, horticulture falls somewhere between home gardening and field agriculture, but the various forms of cultivation are naturally closely related.
Horticulture is divided into edible plant cultivation (fruit tree cultivation and rapeseed cultivation) and ornamental plant cultivation (flower cultivation and landscape horticulture).
Pomology deals with fruit and nut crops. Olericulture deals with herbs used in the kitchen including, for example, carrots (edible roots), asparagus (edible stems), lettuce (edible leaves), cauliflower (edible buds), tomatoes (edible fruit) and peas (edible seeds).
Floriculture involves the production of flowers and ornamental plants; typically, cut flowers, potted plants and greens. Landscape horticulture is a broad category that includes landscape plants, including turf lawns, but especially nursery crops such as shrubs, trees and vines.
A horticulturalist's specialization and crop success are influenced by many factors. These include climate, topography, and other regional differences.
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