Introduction to Horticulture

The agriculture of plants primarily for food, materials and beauty is termed as horticulture. It involves the cultivation and processing of flowers, fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants. It also includes plant propagation and cultivation to improve plant growth, yields, quality and nutrition value. Plants in horticulture can be grown for a variety of purposes such as food, non-food and social needs. Horticulture encompasses numerous fields such as plant conservation, soil management, landscape restoration, landscape design and arboriculture. Other major areas of horticulture are olericulture, pomology, viticulture, oenology and postharvest physiology. Olericulture deals with the production and marketing of vegetables. Pomology refers to the growing and selling of fruits. This textbook provides significant information of this discipline to help develop a good understanding of horticulture and its sub-fields. It is appropriate for students seeking detailed information in this area as well as for experts. Those in search of information to further their knowledge will be greatly assisted by this book.