Introduction to Horticulture

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.

New Cultivars Plant-Water Relationships Temperature Light Plant Nutrition The Rhizosphere Integrated Pest Management Plant Growth Regulators Mechanization Post Harvest Factors Modern Day Horticulture

Introduction to Horticulture