Influence of Technology

• Increased horticultural production by fewer individuals:

  In 1910, one producer could sustain 7 people

  In 1982, one producer could sustain 78 people

• 1880's - 1920: increase in production due to expansion of land available for use
• 1920 - present: increase due to TECHNOLOGY
• Major contributions of science to production sytems: Development of Land Grant Institutions, Agricultural Experiment Stations (such as Ohio's Agricultural Research and Development Center), and the Extension Service (such as Ohio's Extension Service). Sophisticated system for generation and dissemination of knowledge relevant to the producer of horticultural products.

Critical Horticultural Technologies

• Mechanization
  • eliminated back-breaking work of land preparation, cultivation, harvest
  • plow, reaper, tractor
  • Greenhouses
  • Mist systems for propagation
  • Controlled Storage
  • Transportation System
• Chemicals
  • Agricultural Chemicals Industry larger than pharmaceutical industry
  • fertilizers - routine harvesting of plants from fields in early stages of ecological succession (i.e., most production fields) depletes soil of nutrients readily available for plants. Chemical fertilizers provide immediately available nutrients that can be utilized for efficient plant growth.
  • herbicides - major group of agricultural pest control control chemicals used to reduce competition between weeds and the crop being grown.
  • fungicides, insecticides, miticides, nematicides - extensively used in some crops (such as apples, cotton, and greenhouse potted plants) and much less widely used in other crops (such as tomatoes, pumpkins, etc)
  • Growth regulators (ripening, thinning, quality) - used to regulate leaf drop prior to harvest, to reduce plant stature (many potted plants), etc.
  • Plastics - very important in nursery and greenhouse production systems
  • Artificial media - essential for most container nursery and greenhouse operations
  • Energy and Capital costs - fuel consumption for generation of heat or for cooling greenhouses during summer months.
  • Integrated Pest Management: a strategy to minimize chemical inputs for pest control by careful monitoring of pest populations, knowledge of pest life histories, and application of pesticides only when needed.
• Biological Improvement
  • Plant genetics: how characters are inherited
  • Plant breeding: applied genetics
  • Deliberate improvement of plants by controlled crosses, efficient selection, and rigorous testing
  • Hybrid corn: high yield, uniform, easy harvest
  • Many hybrid cultivars (especially for annual crops such as vegetables, bedding plants, and potted plants; not an issue in most herbaceous perennials, shrubs, trees)
  • Seed industry - very sophisticated for annual crops
  • Patents, Plant Variety Protection
  • Future: genetic engineering?
• Commercialization
  • Government regulation (price guarantees) - subsidies, employee relations, Worker Protection Standard, Workmen's Compensation rules, Occupational Safety and Health Rules, etc.
  • Easy credit - comparatively speaking; cost of money in USA is relatively low
  • Cheap energy - but major impact of oil embargo in 1973 on greenhouse industry of Northern tier states. Gasoline costs in US relatively low compared to most industrialized countries.
  • Efficient distribution (transportation)

  • Corporate 'farming' (production/services)

    large scale - e.g. major retailers (WalMart, K-Mart, Krogers) dominating bedding plant distribution system and cut flower prices.

    heavy capitalization

A thought