Introduction to Horticulture
Horticulture
Word first used in 1600’s Comes from two Latin words
Hortus “Garden” Cultura “Cultivation”
Horticulture means “cultivated garden” or “culture of garden plants” NOW MUCH MORE…
Life Sciences
Biology is the branch of science that deals with both plant and animal organisms and life processes. Zoology is the part of biology that
deals with animals. Botany is the part of biology that
deals with plants.
Horticulture
The science and practice of growing, processing and marketing fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants.
Agronomy
The science and practice of growing field crops such as cotton, wheat, tobacco, corn and soybeans.
Branches of Horticulture
Olericulture The growing and study of vegetables.
Pomology The growing and study of fruits and nuts.
Viticulture The growing and study of grapes or
vines. Floriculture
The growing and study of flowers.
Branches of Horticulture
Greenhouse Management The growing and study of plants in
greenhouses. Turfgrass Management
The growing and study of turfgrasses. This includes home, municipal, and commercial lawns; sports turf maintenance; highway rights-of-way; and seed and sod production.
Branches of Horticulture
Nursery Management The growing and study of trees and
shrubs that are produced primarily for landscape purposes.
Arboriculture The growing and study of trees. Known as silviculture in forestry. Synonymous with urban forestry.
Branches of Horticulture
Landscape Horticulture The application of design and
horticultural principles to placement and care of plants in the landscape.
Interiorscaping The application of design and
horticultural principles to placement and care of plants in indoor environments.
Branches of Horticulture
Horticultural Therapy The use of horticultural plants and
methods as therapeutic tools with disabled and disadvantaged people.
QUESTIONS?
Hypothesize - TPS
Where did horticulture begin? Where will the history of
horticulture originate? Who invented it?
History of Horticulture
“Garden of Eden” Romanticized garden of paradise. Ultimate goal throughout history.
History of Horticulture
Prehistoric people were primarily…. Hunters and
gatherers. Collected seeds,
fruits, and nuts.
History of Horticulture
Primitive people began to study plants. Is it edible? Does eating it modify well-being? Does it taste good? Can it used to keep me warm? As
fuel? As clothing? Is it useful to combat pain? Disease?
History of Horticulture
When were plants first cultivated? Neolithic Age
(7000 – 10000 years ago)
First farmers were women!!!!
History of Horticulture
By 3000 B.C. in Egypt Land preparation Irrigation Pruning
History of Horticulture
Meanwhile in Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Assyria….. Irrigation canals lined with burnt brick and
sealed with asphalt joints. This system kept 10,000 square miles
under cultivation….. Which fed 15,000,000 people
Cultivated roses, figs, dates, grapes, and olives.
History of Horticulture
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Built by Nebuchadnezzar.
One of 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
History of Horticulture
Eventually people began asking questions such as….. How do they grow? How do they reproduce? How are they constructed? How are they nourished? How are they related to one another? How are traits passed from one
generation to the next?
History of Horticulture
Meanwhile, back in America…… The Pre-Incas
were cultivating maize (corn)
Hypothesize - TPS
What other crops were Native American’s
growing?
History of Horticulture
Other Indian crops included…… Potatoes Sweet potatoes Peppers Squash Tomatoes Cocoa
History of Horticulture
The use of plant products eventually led to physicians, pharmacists, and scientists.
History of Horticulture
Theophrastus 1st scientific
horticulturist Student of Plato
and Aristotle Wrote the books
History of Plants and The Causes of Plants.
History of Horticulture
History of Plants Morphology of roots, flowers, and leaves. Anatomical features such as bark, pith,
fibers, and vessels. The Causes of Plants
Relationship of weather, soils, and agricultural practices.
Importance of seeds Value of grafting Tastes and flagrances of plants Death of plants
History of Horticulture
Dioscorides Early Christian Era Wrote about the
medicinal uses of plants
Proposed ideas about the relationship of plants
History of Horticulture
Middle Ages Little advancement in horticulture Arabs (established botanical gardens) Scientific advances of Greeks and
Romans were preserved in monasteries.
History of Horticulture
Renaissance Rebirth of energetic attention to
scientific discovery. Taxonomy, morphology, and anatomy
branches of botany began to grow. More and more plants were
discovered due to exploration which required a system of classification.
History of Horticulture
Linnaeus (1707-1778) Swedish botanist. Developed binomial
classification scheme for plants.
Based on their sexual or flowering parts.
Basis for all classification systems today.
Built upon the work of the Greeks, especially Dioscorides.
History of Horticulture
As the Renaissance evolved…… Creation of formal
Gardens Versailles Belvedere in
Vienna
History of Horticulture
Improvements in fruit, nut, and vegetable production.
Influx of new plants from “the colonies”. Some of these plants
became mainstays of European diets.
Horticulture in America
When the Europeans arrived they brought seeds, cuttings, and plants. Orchards were established
Crops brought to America Oranges Wheat Cabbage
Horticulture in America
Early horticulturists in America John Bartram George Washington Thomas Jefferson John Chapman
aka. Johnny Appleseed
Horticulture in America
New life in horticulture Morrill Act of 1862. Established land-grant
universities. Encouraged the growth
of agricultural knowledge.
Horticulture in America
Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954) “Father of American Horticulture” Educated at Michigan Agricultural
College Present Day Michigan State University
Then was a professor at Michigan Agricultural College and at Cornell University.
Horticulture in America
Established the 1st horticulture department
Prodigious Writer Hortus
Taxonomic index of horticultural plants. Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Cultural and taxonomic information of plants.
Horticulture in America
Established the Bailey Hortorium. “things of the garden”
Established the (ASHS) American Society of Horticulture Science in 1903.
Modern Day Horticulture
New Cultivars Plant-Water
Relationships Temperature Light Plant Nutrition
The Rhizosphere Integrated Pest
Management Plant Growth
Regulators Mechanization Post Harvest Factors
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