General Introduction


Definition of Horticulture

Etymology: from the Latin hortus which means garden and colere (or cultura ) which means to cultivate

The definition could now be summarized as: A technology dealing with crops that are intensively cultivated

The crops or (plants) used in horticulture tend to be of high enough value to warrant large input of capital, labor, and technology per unit area of land. This is particularly the case if we consider the commercial aspects of horticulture.

Read Liberty Hyde Bailey's views on what is Horticulture. His comments were written in 1904, but they provide a succinct description of the field that is still relevant today.

Compare the description below to that provided by the Encyclopedia Brittannica in their Micropaedia description of Horticulture.

There are numerous characteristics that can be identified as distinctive of Horticulture. These include:

  1. The context in which Horticultural activities are carried out.
  2. The types of plants that are used in horticulture
  3. The kinds of environments in which these plants are produced/utilized
  4. How the plants are utilized.

Return to the Horticulture Principles section of the WebPortal