Encyclopaedia of Plants Science

Horticulture has a very long history. The study and science of horticulture dates all the way back to the times of Cyrus the Great, King of ancient Persia, and has been going on ever since, with present day horticulturists such as Freeman S. Howlett, the revolutionary horticulturist. The practice of horticulture can be retraced for many thousands of years. The cultivation of taro and yam in Papua New Guinea dates back to at least 6950-6440 cal BP. The origins of horticulture lie in the transition of human communities from nomadic hunter-gatherers to sedentary or semi-sedentary horticultural communities, cultivating a variety of crops on a small scale around their dwellings or in specialized plots visited occasionally during migrations from one area to the next (such as the "milpa" or maize field of Mesoamerican cultures). In the Pre-Columbian Amazon Rainforest, natives are believed to have used biochar to enhance soil productivity by smoldering plant waste. European settlers called it Terra Preta de Indio. In forest areas such horticulture is often carried out in swiddens ("slash and bum" areas). A characteristic of horticultural communities is that useful trees are often to be found planted around communities or specially retained from the natural ecosystem. This encyclopaedic dictionary is a systematic compilation of available information on horticulture science that helps in providing specific information on the cultivation and utilization of these crops to farmers, academicians, students and related user industries.