Horticulture - Definition and Branches - PDF

Fundamentals of Horticulture Horticulture – Definition, Branches, Importance and Scope Simply Horticulture means ‘Cultivation of ‘Garden Crops’. The term ‘Horticulture’ was 1st appeared in written language in 17 th century. The word ‘Horticulture’ comes from two Latin wo...

Fundamentals of Horticulture Horticulture – Definition, Branches, Importance and Scope Simply Horticulture means ‘Cultivation of ‘Garden Crops’. The term ‘Horticulture’ was 1st appeared in written language in 17 th century. The word ‘Horticulture’ comes from two Latin words- HORTUS (means Garden) and COLERE (means To Cultivate). M. H. Marigowda (Maragowdanahalli Hombegowda Marigowda) is considering as the father of horticulture. Definition: Horticulture is an art, science and technique of production, processing and merchandizing of fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants. Branches of horticulture: The science of horticulture can be divided into several branches depending upon the crops it deals with.  Pomology /Fruit Science: study of fruit crops.  Olericulture/Vegetable Science: cultivation of vegetables.  Floriculture and Landscape Gardening: cultivation of flower crops.  Spices and Plantation crops: cultivation of cardamom, pepper, nutmeg coconut, arecanut, rubber, coffee, tea, etc.  Post-harvest technology: deals with post-harvest handling, grading, packaging, storage processing, value addition, marketing etc, of horticulture crops.  Medicinal and aromatic crops: cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops.  Plant propagation: deals with propagation of plants. Research organizations of horticulture in India:  Indian Institute of Horticultural Research(IIHR), Bangalore  Indian Institute of Vegetable Research(IIVR), Varanasi  Indian Institute of Spices Research(IISR), Calicut, Kerala  Central Institute of sub-tropical Horticulture(CISH), Lucknow  Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture(CITH), Srinagar Class note-1. Dr. Shuvadeep Halder  Fundamentals of Horticulture  Central Potato Research Institute(CPRI), Kufri, Shimla  Central Tuber Crops Research Institute(CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala  Central Plantation Crops Research Institute(CPCRI) Kasargod, Kerala  Central Institute of Arid Horticulture(CIAH), Bikaner, Rajasthan  Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology(CIPHET), Ferozepur, Punjab  National Research Centre for Banana. Trichirapalli, Tamil Nadu  National Research Centre for Citrus, Nagpur, Maharastra  National Research Centre for Onion and Garlic, Pune, Maharastra  National Research Centre for Grape, Pune, Maharastra  National Research Centre for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Anand, Gujarat  National Research Centre for Mushroom, Solan  National Research Centre for Orchid, Gangtok, Sikkim  National Research Centre for Cashew nut, Puttur, Karnataka  National Research Centre for Seed Spices, Ajmer, Rajasthan  National Research Centre for Oil Palm, Eluru, Andhra Pradesh  National Research Centre for Pomegranate, Solapur, Maharastra  National Research Centre for Makhana, Patna, Bihar  National Research Centre for Litchi, Muzaffarpur, Bihar  National Horticulture Board(NHB), Gurgaon, Haryana  Importance of Horticulture: for details please follow the book Fundamentals of Horticulture by Dr. Jitendra Singh. 1. Income generation. 2. Employment generation. 3. Industrial development. Class note-1. Dr. Shuvadeep Halder  Fundamentals of Horticulture 4. Religious and sacred value. 5. Food value. 6. Nutritional value. 7. Aesthetic value. 8. Export value. 9. Miscellaneous. Scope of Horticulture: Like any other things, scope of horticulture depends on incentive it has for the farmers, adaptability of the crops, necessity and facilities for future growth through inputs availability and infrastructure for the distribution of produce/ marketing etc. 1. Incentive for the farmer:  The biggest incentive for the farmer is money.  Horticultural crops provide more returns in terms of per unit area of production, export value, value addition compared to agricultural crops. 2. Adaptability:  India is bestowed with a great variety of climatic and edaphic conditions as we have climates varying from tropical, subtropical, temperate and within these humid, semi- arid, arid, frost free temperate etc.  Likewise we have soils from loam, alluvial, laterite, medium black, rocky shallow, heavy black, sandy etc., and thus a large number of crops can be accommodated with very high level of adaptability. Thus, there is lot of scope for horticultural crops. 3. Necessity:  After having achieved the self sufficiency in food, nutritional security for the people of the country has become the point of consideration/ priority.  To meet the nutritional requirement in terms of vitamins and minerals horticulture Class note-1. Dr. Shuvadeep Halder  Fundamentals of Horticulture crops are to be grown in sufficient quantities to provide a bare minimum of 120 g of fruits and 300 g of vegetables per head per day with a population of above 120 crores.  Good land is under pressure for stable food, industry, housing, roads and infrastructure due to population explosion and only wasteland had to be efficiently utilized where cultivation of annuals is a gamble due to restricted root zone and their susceptibility of abiotic stress. These lands can be best utilized to cultivate hardy horticultural crops like fruits and medicinal plants.  At present our share in international trade of horticultural commodities is less than one percent of total trade. Moreover, these commodities (spices, coffee, tea etc.,) fetch 10-20 times more foreign exchange per unit weight than cereals and therefore, taking advantage of globalization of trade, nearness of big market and the size of production, our country should greatly involve in international trade which would provide scope for growth. 4. Export value:  Among fresh fruits-mangoes and grapes; in vegetables- onion and potato; among flowers, roses; among plantation - cashewnut, tea , coffee, coconut, arecanut, and spice crops like black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, chillies, etc., constitute the bulk of the export basket.  European and gulf countries are major importer of horticultural produce. Major countries for export of horticultural produce from India Sl. No. Commodity Major importer Share value(%) 1 Fruits and vegetables United Arab Emirates 28.00 2 Flower crops U.S.A 37.70 3 Processed products Soviet Union countries 14.60 4 Spices U.S.A 43.50 5 Cashew U.S.A 40.00 Class note-1. Dr. Shuvadeep Halder  Fundamentals of Horticulture In the recent past communication and transport system have improved, investment in food industry has increased which will support growth of horticulture through quick deliverance and avoidance of waste. Reasons for scope of Horticulture in India are: 1. To exploit the great variability of agro-climatic conditions in the country. 2. To meet the need for fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, beverages in relation to population growth based on minimum nutritional security and for other needs. 3. To meet the requirement of processing industry. 4. To substitute import and increase export. 5. To improve the economic conditions of the farmers and to engage more labourers to avoid the problem of unemployment. 6. To protect environment. Other importance: 1. Similar to forest trees these horticultural trees will maintain the ecosphere. 2. They help in transforming the microclimate. 3. Provides shelter to birds, reptiles and other micro-organism and add to the geo- ecological diversity on the land. 4. Provides thrust to the writers, poets, thinkers and analysts there by keeps their cultural impulse alive. 5. Adds to the survival of life-spheres of living entit Class note-1. Dr. Shuvadeep Halder  Fundamentals of Horticulture Class note-1. Dr. Shuvadeep Halder