Description

The term horticulture is derived from the Latin words hortus, meaning garden, and cultura, meaning cultivation.Acroding to Janick" it is the branch of agriculture concerned with intensively cultured plants directly used by man for food, for medicinal purposes, or for esthetic gratification". Horticultural crops include the vegetables and fruits which are directly used by man for food, the flowers and ornamental plants for aesthetic uses or visual enjoyment, and those used for medicinal purposes.

Based on crop grouping and plant use, the main divisions or branches of horticulture are:

1. Olericulture- the production of vegetables including storage, processing, and marketing. Vegetable crops are grown for their succulent and edible parts such as the roots, stems, leaves, young tops, flowers, fruits, or seeds for use in culinary preparations either fresh or preserved in the fresh state.

2. Pomology- the branch of horticulture which deals with fruit crop production. Fruit crops are grown for their edible fruits which, as a rule, are consumed raw.

3. Floriculture- the cultivation and management of cut flowers, flowering plants, and foliage plants  including their use in ornamental construct such as flower arrangement .

4. Plant Propagation/Nursery Crop Culture- the propagation and production of seedlings, young trees, shrubs and vines, as well as ground covers, turf, ornamental plants and other crops in nurseries for landscaping, interior plantscaping, or outplanting.

5. Landscape horticulture- the branch of horticulture which includes the design, construction and care of landscapes taking into consideration proper choice of plants and aesthetic effects for homes, businesses and public places.