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Floriculture (from ) is the study of the efficient production of the plants that produce showy, colorful and Leaf for human enjoyment in human environments. It is a commercially successful branch of horticulture and agriculture found throughout the world. Efficient production practices have been developed over the years, for the hundreds of plant taxa used in the floral industry, increasing the overall knowledge of whole plant biology. Plant breeding and selection have produced tens of thousands of new genotypes for human use.
Floriculture crops include and Cut flowers, bedding plants (garden flowers or annuals, and perennials, (Houseplant and Houseplant). These plants are produced in ground beds, flower fields or in Container garden in a greenhouse. Protected cultivation is often used because these plants have a high value to humans.
Flower crops are grown in simple to highly sophisticated ways. These crops can be grown in soil in farm fields or in field soil in inexpensive Polytunnel greenhouses.H. Chris Wien. Floral Crop Production in High Tunnels. HortTechnology Jan 2009 19(1): 56-60 For years, flowers were grown, seasonally for the specific crop, close to the market in Europe, North America and Asia. However, many crops of the floral industry have moved to a specific climate, typically in the mountains of South America, Africa and China, so certain plants can be grown year aroundVan Rijswick C. World floriculture map 2015. Gearing Up for Stronger Competition, Rabobank Industry Note. 2015 Jan(475). where hand labor is available.
Protected horticulture (greenhouses) has developed simultaneously with the continued changes in the flower crops and markets. Floriculture is a major component of controlled-environment agriculture (CEA). Floriculture crops have a high value to humans, so the cost of an expensive production system - ,Chris Beytes (Editor). 2021. Ball RedBook: Greenhouse Structures, Equipment, and Technology 19th Edition. Ball Publishing. automated environmental control, automated irrigation and Fertilizer, robotic seed, transplant and container handling, supplemental photosynthetic lighting - is necessary to produce these plants efficiently for the world-wide markets. Some are irrigated manually, but most are irrigated with drip irrigation, boom irrigation or flood floors. Hydroponics can be used for many cut flower crops.
The total wholesale value of sales across all U.S. floriculture crops totaled US$6.69 billion in 2022 from 8,951 floriculture producers with a production area of 833 million square feet.2022 Commercial Floriculture Survey NASS's Quick Stats. National Agricultural Statistics Service. United States Department of Agriculture. 05/31/2023.
This success was tied to a relatively deep pot, usually 6–10 inches (15–25 cm) deep or larger. Gravity was sufficient to pull or drain water from the soil so an adequate portion of the soil in the pot was well drained and oxygen would be available to the root system. As US greenhouses began to expand the bedding plant business in the 1950s and 1960s, they needed smaller containers for the logistical aspects of plant spacing and shipping. Vacuum formed plastic trays and packs offered the smaller sizes but composted field soil was easy to overwater in the smaller containers. The first step was to add peat moss and perlite to the field soil in a 1:1:1 ratio. The next step was to use other materials, sphagnum moss peat and vermiculite, in a 1:1 ratio, the Cornell peat-lite mix.Sheldrake Jr, R., & Boodley, J. W. (1965, May). Plant growing in lightweight artificial mixes. In Symposium on Vegetable Growing under Glass 4 (pp. 155-157).Boodley, J. W., & Sheldrake, R. (1972). Cornell peat-lite mixes for commercial growing. In the 1970s, more materials were used for Potting soil by the companies formed to process and distribute growing media to operations across the country. The physical properties of all the products had to be evaluated on a standard basis to make wise choices with economic decisions the operations were making.Bilderback, T. E., & Fonteno, W. C. (1987). Effects of container geometry and media physical properties on air and water volumes in containers. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 5(4), 180–182.Fonteno, W. C., Cassel, D. K., & Larson, R. A. (1981). Physical Properties of Three Container Media and their Effect on Poinsettia Growth1. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 106(6), 736–741. As plug (young plant) production, mechanization of seed germination and mechanization of transplanting, began in the 1980s more work was necessary to manage the small volume of growing media in plug trays.Di Benedetto, A. H., & Klasman, R. (2004). The effect of plug cell volume on the post-transplant growth for Impatiens walleriana pot plant. European Journal of Horticultural Science, 69(2), 82-86. Research continues of all aspects of growing media and container design.Gallegos, J., Álvaro, J. E., & Urrestarazu, M. (2020). Container Design Affects Shoot and Root Growth of Vegetable Plant. HortScience horts, 55(6), 787-794. Retrieved Jul 22, 2023, from
The harvest and use of peat for growing media remains an environmental issue in North America and Europe.Kitir, N., Yildirim, E., Şahin, Ü., Turan, M., Ekinci, M., Ors, S., ... & Ünlü, H. (2018). Peat use in horticulture. Peat; Topcuoglu, B., Turan, M., Eds.; IntechOpen: London, UK, 75-90. Alternative and more sustainable materials continue to be added to growing media processing - pine bark, processed pine bark, coco coir, wood fiber, etc.Eveleens, B., van Winkel, A., & Blok, C. (2021, August). Wood fiber in pot plant culture; peat replacement up to 50% in volume?. In II International Symposium on Growing Media, Soilless Cultivation, and Compost Utilization in Horticulture 1317 (pp. 165–174). Sustainable solutions for growing media materials remain a high priority for the industry.Barrett, G. E., Alexander, P. D., Robinson, J. S., & Bragg, N. C. (2016). Achieving environmentally sustainable growing media for soilless plant cultivation systems–A review. Scientia horticulturae, 212, 220–234.
The impact of certain pesticides, neonics, on bees and other pollinators has become a significant concern. The application of these pesticides on garden flowers during greenhouse production can have a major impact on pollinator populations in a consumer's garden.Potts, S. G., Imperatriz-Fonseca, V., Ngo, H. T., Aizen, M. A., Biesmeijer, J. C., Breeze, T. D., ... & Vanbergen, A. J. (2016). Safeguarding pollinators and their values to human well-being. Nature, 540(7632), 220–229.Thompson, D. A., Lehmler, H. J., Kolpin, D. W., Hladik, M. L., Vargo, J. D., Schilling, K. E., ... & Field, R. W. (2020). A critical review on the potential impacts of neonicotinoid insecticide use: current knowledge of environmental fate, toxicity, and implications for human health. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 22(6), 1315-1346.
Research continues on biological control of greenhouse insect, mite and plant pathogens to reduce pesticide use in floriculture crop production.Messelink, G. J., & Janssen, A. (2014). Increased control of thrips and aphids in greenhouses with two species of generalist predatory bugs involved in intraguild predation. Biological Control, 79, 1-7.van Lenteren, J. C. (2007). Biological control for insect pests in greenhouses: an unexpected success. Biological control: a global perspective. CAB Int, Wallingford, 105–117.Van Driesche, R., & Hoddle, M. (2009). Control of pests and weeds by natural enemies: an introduction to biological control. John Wiley & Sons.
Work was completed to standardize a plant's need for light (radiant energy) from natural and artificial sources. The term daily light integral (DLI) was introduced as a measurement of the optimal amount of radiant energy each plant requires for optimal growth.Faust, J. E., Holcombe, V., Rajapakse, N. C., & Layne, D. R. (2005). The effect of daily light integral on bedding plant growth and flowering. HortScience, 40(3), 645–649.Kjaer, K. H., Ottosen, C. O., & Jørgensen, B. N. (2012). Timing growth and development of Campanula by daily light integral and supplemental light level in a cost-efficient light control system. Scientia Horticulturae, 143, 189–196.Faust, J. E., & Logan, J. (2018). Daily light integral: A research review and high-resolution maps of the United States. HortScience, 53(9), 1250-1257.Oh, W., Cheon, I. H., Kim, K. S., & Runkle, E. S. (2009). Photosynthetic daily light integral influences flowering time and crop characteristics of Cyclamen persicum. HortScience, 44(2), 341-344.
The introduction of light emitting diode (LED) lamps offered more opportunities for supplemental lighting. These lamps were more efficient at light production, cooler and allowed the manipulation of light quality from different wavelengths of light compared to other lamps.Mitchell, C. A., Both, A. J., Bourget, C. M., Burr, J. F., Kubota, C., Lopez, R. G., ... & Runkle, E. S. (2012). LEDs: The future of greenhouse lighting!. Chronica Horticulturae, 52(1), 6-12.Jeong, S.W., Hogewoning, S.W. and van Ieperen, W., 2014. Responses of supplemental blue light on flowering and stem extension growth of cut chrysanthemum. Scientia Horticulturae, 165, pp.69-74.Kobori, M. M. R. G., da Costa Mello, S., de Freitas, I. S., Silveira, F. F., Alves, M. C., & Azevedo, R. A. (2022). Supplemental light with different blue and red ratios in the physiology, yield and quality of Impatiens. Scientia Horticulturae, 306, 111424.
Supplemental lighting has been used to optimize production of seedlings,Oh, W., Runkle, E. S., & Warner, R. M. (2010). Timing and duration of supplemental lighting during the seedling stage influence quality and flowering in petunia and pansy. HortScience, 45(9), 1332-1337.Randall, W. C., & Lopez, R. G. (2015). Comparison of bedding plant seedlings grown under sole-source light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and greenhouse supplemental lighting from LEDs and high-pressure sodium lamps. HortScience, 50(5), 705–713. bedding plants, cut flowersSpall, C. E., & Lopez, R. G. (2023). Supplemental Lighting Quality Influences Time to Flower and Finished Quality of Three Long-Day Specialty Cut Flowers. Horticulturae, 9(1), 73. and other crops.
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