Fundamentals of Horticulture

Fundamentals of Horticulture Fundamentals of Horticulture Fundamentals of Horticulture

INTRODUCTION

India is the seventh largest country in the world with a total geographical area of three hundred twenty-eight point seven three million hectares and has second largest population one hundred twenty-one crores, after China. The total arable land available is one hundred forty-four million hectares of which seventy percent is under rainfed cultivation. Around fifty-five to sixty percent 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 the 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".

At present the horticulture may be defined as the science and technique of production, processing and merchandizing of fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants.

Branches of Horticulture

Horticulture is a wide field and 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. The following are the branches of horticulture.

One. Pomology: refers to cultivation of fruit crops.

Two. Olericulture: refers to cultivation of vegetables.

Three. Floriculture: refers to cultivation of flower crops.

Four. Plantation crops: refers to cultivation of crops like coconut, arecanut, rubber, coffee, tea et cetera.

Five. Spices crops: refers to cultivation of crops like, cardamom, pepper, nutmeg et cetera.

Six. Medicinal and aromatic crops: deals with cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops.

Seven. Post harvest technology: deals with post harvest handling, grading, packaging, storage, processing, value addition, marketing et cetera of horticulture crops.

Eight. Plant propagation: deals with propagation of plants.

Fruit crops: 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 et cetera are the important ones.