Horticulture vs Agriculture: What is the difference?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word horticulture and how is it different from agriculture? More professionals agree that horticulture is a subset of agriculture. However, a lot of individuals struggle to understand how the two terms differ from one another.

The following article gives you a detailed insight into what horticulture is, how it is different from agriculture and the importance of horticulture.

Also Read This : Amazing benefits of having COLOURED PLANTS around you

What is horticulture?

Horticulture is derived from the Latin words hortus, which means “garden,” and culture, which means “cultivation.” Horticulture is agriculture done on a very small scale, it involves growing crops such as vegetables, nuts, flowers, and other ornamental plants on selectively small areas, generally horticulture requires very specific equipment and techniques, it may also require controlled environmental conditions for optimizing plant growth and greenhouses are also used for this purpose.

What is agriculture?

The word agriculture comes from the Latin word Agri meaning field and culture meaning cultivation. Thus agriculture means the cultivation of plants and livestock. It could also be defined as the science of cultivating soil, producing crops and raising livestock or more simply practicing farming.

Also Read This : How to Grow Sunflower from Seeds At Home

Agriculture is the primary reason for human civilization that happened due to the ample production of food grains during the green revolution.

Which is Better: Horticulture or Agriculture?

In contrast to agriculture, horticulture involves a far larger variety of crops, not just food and cash crops. Thus, horticulture offers more advantages than traditional agricultural or food crop farming methods.

Horticulture is often thought to be restricted to the production of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and nuts as agricultural products, but it encompasses much more than that. It also includes the cultivation of decorative and landscaping plants including shrubs, herbs, and grasses.

Also Read This : Superb Ideas to Support Vine Plants for Indoors & Outdoors

Conversely agriculture involves a cultivation of a few crops on a much larger scale, it usually focuses on producing a huge amount of a single crop. Unlike horticulture it also includes livestock farming i.e raising animals. On the other hand, horticulture aims to maximize the production of various crops on a small scale, therefore it is mostly practiced in greenhouses and vertical gardens.

There are also environmental benefits of horticulture over agriculture as Horticultural crops produce higher biomass than field crops per unit area resulting in efficient utilization of natural resources. Thus there seems to be greater advantages of horticulture to the environment.

Also Read This : How to Grow Bell Pepper (Capsicum) from Seeds At Home

Characteristics of horticulture

The following are the basic characteristics of horticulture:

• It is a branch of agriculture that deals with ornamental plants, flowers, and fruits.
• It necessitates the use of enormous, technologically advanced, autonomous farms.
• A significant amount of capital is required to establish a horticultural unit..
• Horticulture is a labour-intensive job i.e it requires a large labour force.
• It gives industries the raw resources they need to process crops.

Also Read This : Amazing products that can be procured from the COCONUT TREE in ABSOLUTELY NO TIME…

Use of Modern Technologies

Horticulture involves the use of extensive and cutting edge technologies to cultivate fruit, vegetable and flowering plants on a substantial land area.

The following modern technologies are used in horticulture to maximize the input on a smaller field.

Automation for plant Monitoring

The automatic plant monitoring system allows you to track the status of your plants 24/7. It enables you to easily recognize when each plant needs to be watered, fertilized, and harvested. Additionally, it offers advice on how to care for indoor plants throughout the year, even during the winter.

Also Read This : How to Grow Lotus from Seeds at Home and its Benefits

Typical equipment for plant monitoring in a field or greenhouse includes

An optical magnifier, plastic bag for plant samples, clipboard, highlighter, and camera ; These days, sticky traps and mobile applications may provide a much more realistic picture of the pests and illnesses in a crop; some apps even offer recommendations for potential remedies.

Using drones to detect and control pests and diseases

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), also known as drones, are nowadays used to precisely spread beneficial insects from the air while also locating pest and disease “hotspots” in crops. In the upcoming years, identifying and minimising crop damage will depend more and more on drones with sensor and imaging capabilities.

Also Read This : Hibiscus Flower: How to Grow Cutting and Seeds

Alternatives to traditional soil growth

In hydroponics, as opposed to the conventional method of growing plants in soil, plants are grown in a little amount of solid material, primarily sand and gravel. A few additional techniques, including biopolymer film farming, allow plants to flourish in environments other than soil, using less water as a result.

Types of Horticulture

Since horticulture involves the cultivation of a wide variety of plants, they have been divided into many types. They consist of:

Also Read This : Which Leaf and flowers is offered to God Shiva in the month of Sawan

Olericulture: the production and farming of vegetables.

Fruticulture: the production of fruits and nuts.

Viticulture: the production of grapes (largely intended for winemaking).

Floriculture: the production of flowering and ornamental plants.

Turf management: the production and maintenance of turf grass for sports, leisure and amenity use.

Arboriculture: the cultivation and care of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants, primarily for landscape and amenity purposes.

Landscape horticulture: the selection, production and care of plants used in landscape architecture.

Postharvest physiology: the management of harvested horticultural crops to retard spoilage while stored or transported.

Also Read This : Marigold Flower Plants : How to Grow Cutting and Seeds

Horticulture Benefits

• Plants and horticulture may help people and families by promoting health and wellbeing.
• In addition to physical and nutritional health benefits, gardening uniquely provides important mental well-being benefits. The repeated work involved in gardening is said to be soothing, provide mental renewal, and improve attention.
• Our communities can become safer by growing more plants; Regularly taking care of plants gets us outside, interacting with others, and becoming more conscious of our neighbourhood, which leads to a greater feeling of community, more solidified social ties, and a decrease in crime, including fewer graffiti, litter, and verbal hostility among residents..

Also Read This : Superb Benefits of Brushing your Teeth with Miswak Stick every Morning