Biology

The main difference between Floriculture and Horticulture is that while Horticulture focuses on the cultivation of plants, Floriculture is a branch of horticulture based on the use and cultivation of flowering plants for decorative purposes.

Another difference between Floriculture and Horticulture is that while the latter focuses on the cultivation of plants, Floriculture also deals with flower-related activities such as designing, producing, marketing, and selling flowers.

What is Floriculture?

Floriculture is the cultivation, management and production of plants for use in industry, agriculture (as crops), and horticulture. Areas of study include flower breeding, cultivation techniques, and marketing/business operations.

The word “floriculture” was coined in the early 19th century by J. C. Neuman, founder of the nursery firm Knipschildt & Voss in Frankfurt-am-Main. The term derives from Latin flos and cultura (“cultivation”), or literally, ” cultivation of flowers”.

It is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultural practices associated with the production, handling and marketing of flowering plants for ornamental purposes in gardens and landscape design. Floriculture crops include bedding plants (annuals, biennials and perennials), houseplants, floral greens (carnations, roses and other herbaceous plants), flowering shrubs, foliage plants (ferns, palms) and fruits (such as strawberries or citrus). 

The science of floriculture deals with the cultivation of flowers for human use. Floriculture crops are grown in cooler climates than those used for agricultural crops because the plants are highly sensitive to heat.

What is the importance of Floriculture?

The Floriculture Industry is:

• A renewable natural resource. From the use of seeds, cuttings and grafts to propagation using tissue culture, all production methods are environmentally friendly; many plants can be produced from a single plant with no loss in quality.
• An important source of employment.
• An important source of income for farmers and workers. For example, in the United States, floriculture contributes more than $30 billion to the economy each year through production and sales.
• Important to improving quality of life by providing aesthetic landscaping around homes, offices and public places.

 

What is Horticulture?

Horticulture is the science and art of producing fruits, nuts, vegetables, ornamental plants (i.e., flowering bedding plants), flowers, and useful herbs for human use. This is done by planting, cultivating, and harvesting the crops in a planned way to obtain maximum yields of high quality products.

Horticulture includes many other aspects such as nursery production, landscape design (concerned with plant selection), pest control, weed management (including irrigation), marketing and sales, greenhouse management (production of bedding plants, floriculture, and vegetables), plant breeding (the genetic improvement of horticultural crops), post-harvest technology (preservation and storage of fruits, nuts, vegetables and flowers), food processing (canning or preserving fruits/vegetables for long-term use) etc.

What are horticultural plants?

Horticultural plants are grown to produce flowers, fruits, and vegetables. They come in many varieties, from the common tulip or rose to unusual species such as canna lilies and heliconia.

What are the 4 areas of horticulture?

1. Orchidology – the cultivation of orchids for profit.
2. Landscape design and installation – the art and science of designing, installing and maintaining a beautiful garden in harmony with all living things on earth including ourselves. This includes everything from planting the last blade of grass to an entire city of trees.
3. Floriculture – the cultivation and sale of ornamental plants for profit. This includes flowers, foliage plants, succulents and herbaceous perennials in addition to many other categories such as greenhouse crops (tomato, peppers), cut flowers (rose, orchid) , potted plants (palms, cactus) and many others.
4. Landscape Maintenance – the art and science of maintaining a garden with live trees, grass and other plants in harmony with all living things on earth including ourselves. This includes everything from pruning to mowing to weed control to plant health care.

 

What are the 4 divisions of Horticulture?

1. Ornamental horticulture – the art and science of growing flowers, fruits, vegetables and other ornamental plants for profit. This includes everything from landscaping to greenhouse crops to cut flowers.
2. Floral design – the art and science of designing, purchasing and arranging flowers for profit. This includes everything from weddings to corsages to decorating a house with cut flowers.
3. Landscape design – the art and science of designing landscape gardens for profit. This includes everything from residential landscapes to commercial work including parks, golf courses and office buildings.
4. Landscape installation – the art and science of installing landscape gardens for profit. This includes everything from residential landscapes to commercial work including parks, golf courses and office buildings.

What is the importance of Horticulture?

Horticulture is a very important sector of the economy as it plays an integral role in creating employment opportunities for the rural population especially women. The Horticulture sector has also emerged as one of the most profitable sectors of agriculture and provides great returns to farmers due to high value addition, which leads to greater revenue generation per hectare of land.

Horticulture vs Floriculture: Difference Between Horticulture and Floriculture

 

The difference between horticulture and floriculture is that in horticultural activities, the main focus is on agriculture. However, in floricultural activities, floral arrangements are common. 

 

1. The term ‘horticultural’ refers to any process related to plants or crops while the term ‘floriculture’ refers to the cultivation of flowers. 
2. In horticulture, farmers can grow vegetables as well as fruits and in floriculture, they can only grow flowers.
3. In both horticultural practices and floricultural practices, a wide variety of plants are used for commercial purposes. In horticultural practices, farmers grow and nurture plants such as vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers and spices Whereas in floriculture, the main focus is on flowers.
4. Horticulture takes into account all aspects of agriculture while floriculture considers only flower cultivation. 
5. Horticultural activities also include gardening whereas in floriculture there is no need to garden. 
6. Horticultural activities can take place in a small area while floriculture requires a large area of land.
7. Horticulturists do not use chemicals and pesticides for growing plants whereas floriculturists may have to use these substances since they are involved in the cultivation of flowers. 
8. Horticulturists may need to use chemicals and pesticides for destroying pests which destroy crops while in floriculture, these are not necessary.
9. The tools required for horticultural activities such as pruning shears, cultivators and weeders are different from the tools used by floriculturists such as scissors, shears and hoses. 
10. Horticulturists may use tools such as shovels, pruning saws and rakes while floriculturists don’t need to have these kinds of tools.

Horticulture vs Floriculture: Conclusion

Horticulture is a very old practice whereas floriculture is relatively new. Horticulture is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers while floriculture deals with the cultivation of flowers. Both horticultural practices and floricultural practices are important for maintaining aesthetic surroundings in big cities as well as small towns.

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