Definitions of agriculture, agronomy, horticulture

What is Agriculture?

There are many online queries on what is agriculture although its history started more than 10,000 years ago. I used to think that this is quite amazing because the word agriculture is of common usage. On second thought, I now realize that this seemingly high interest in clarifying the term is justified in view of its large coverage, its varied application as a science, practice, enterprise, and for other purposes including legal matters, and with new technologies and specialized fields continuously added into its fold.

In relation to crop farming and livestock farming, the term �agriculture� may be defined as: the art and science of growing plants and the raising of animals for food, other human needs, or economic gain.

This definition describes agriculture as both an art and a science (needs skill and founded on scientifically verified facts) and thus includes specialized disciplines; the words �growing� and �raising� are descriptive of enterprise, activity or practice. It has two main divisions: plant or crop production and animal or livestock production; and it�s ultimate purpose is for food production, other human needs, or for economic gain.

However, it is admitted that no definition can be exacting for everybody and for all purposes. Nevertheless, I find this elucidation on what is agriculture especially convenient where its coverage is limited to crop production (agronomy and horticulture) and livestock production even knowing that some definitions include fisheries, forestry, and other activities. Further, the science of agriculture is dynamic.

For more elaboration, the following 12 definitions are given from which the above definition was obtained. Many more can be found from various sources.

1. Agriculture is the growing of both plants and animals for human needs (Abellanosa, A.L. and H.M. Pava. 1987. Introduction to Crop Science. Central Mindanao University, Musuan, Bukidnon: Publications Office. p. 238).

2. Agriculture is the science or practice of large-scale soil cultivation (The New Webster�s Dictionary of the English Language (international ed.). 2004. Lexicon Publications, Inc. p. 17).

3. Agriculture is the deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain. (Rubenstein, J.M. 2003. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. p. 496).

More on What is Agriculture: Definitions from Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedia

4. Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming (Wikipedia. 2010. Agriculture. Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture).

5. Agriculture is the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products. Synonyms: farming, husbandry. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agriculture, September 1, 2010).

6. Agriculture is the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. Origin: late Middle English: from Latin agricultura, from ager, agr- 'field' + cultura 'growing, cultivation'. (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/agriculture, September 2, 2010).

7. Agriculture is the science of cultivating land, producing crops, and raising livestock (http://science.yourdictionary.com/agriculture, September 1, 2010).

(The next 5 definitions give more insights on what is agriculture. These are presumably for legal purposes or applied in legal disputes)

8. Agriculture includes farming in all branches and, among other things, includes the cultivation and tillage of soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural and horticultural commodities, the raising of livestock or poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, but does not include the manufacturing or processing of sugar, coconuts, abaca, tobacco, pineapple or other farm products. (Art. 97 (d), Chapter I, Title II, Labor Code of the Philippines).

9. Agriculture, Agricultural Enterprise or Agricultural Activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, including the harvesting of such farm products, and other farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with such farming operations done by persons whether natural or juridical. (Sec. 3b, Chapter I, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (R.A. No. 6657 as amended by R. A. 7881), Philippines. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from http://www.chanrobles.com/legal4agrarianlaw.htm).

10. Agriculture is �the art of cultivating the earth in order to obtain from it the divers things it can produce; and particularly what is useful to man, as grain, fruit's, cotton, flax, and other things.� (Domat, Dr. Pub. liv. tit. 14, s. 1, n. 1. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Agriculture.

11. �Farming� or �agriculture� shall include farming in all of its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural, aquacultural, floricultural or horticultural commodities, the growing and harvesting of forest products upon forest land, the raising of livestock including horses, the keeping of horses as a commercial enterprise, the keeping and raising of poultry, swine, cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes, bees, fur-bearing animals, and any forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a farmer, who is hereby defined as one engaged in agriculture or farming as herein defined, or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparations for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market. (Sec. 1a, Chapter 128, M.G.L. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/128-1a.htm).

More on What is Agriculture: Definition from Court Decisions

12. Agriculture includes farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities, the raising of livestock or poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with some farming operations, but does not include the manufacturing or processing of sugar, coconuts, abaca, tobacco, pineapples or other farm products. (Rileco, Inc. v. Mindanao Congress of Labor-Ramie United Workers� Assn., 26 SCRA 224 [1968]. It also includes production activities involving the use of saltbeds. (Lapina v. CAR, 21 SCRA 194 [1967]). (Agpalo, R.E. 1997. Agpalo�s Legal Words and Phrases. Mla., Phils.: Rex Book Store. pp. 33-34).

 Agriculture?

The first 7 are scientific and practical definitions while numbered 8 to 12 are legal definitions of agriculture. These last 5 give more details on what is agriculture by enumerating the activities covered by the enterprise or practice. That contending parties have found the necessity to elevate to the Court controversies in relation to what is agriculture only underscores the uncertainty some feel for the term. The following conclusions can be made from these definitions and from those of specialized fields under agriculture:

1. Agriculture is an enterprise, activity or practice. It is synonymous to farming.

2. The practice of agriculture is based on systematized body of knowledge (science) and requires skill (art).

3. Agriculture often involves the cultivation of the soil to grow plants and the raising of animals for human needs. The words �crops� and �livestock� are also used. However, both words are special or technical terms. �Crops" should clearly mean plants (with exceptions, as in mushroom) which are useful to man (read Agricultural Crops Classifications) while �livestock� applies to both domesticated animals and poultry. However, cultivation which essentially involves disturbing the soil does not apply to crop production systems using soil-less media, as in hydroponics.

4. Agriculture is practiced for the purpose of producing food, other human uses or for economic gain. The ultimate purpose is essentially important in clarifying what is agriculture.

(Ben G. Bareja, edited August 2011)

 Agronomy?

What is agronomy? This is another question that is as important as �what is horticulture?� in relation to the study and practice of plant agriculture. For those who desire to specialize in either agronomy or horticulture, the two main divisions of crop production, it is important to be able to distinguish between the two, or at least learn when both terms may apply to the same crop, or when an outright answer has to be deferred.

It will be embarassing if an agriculturist finds himself stammering when he is suddenly asked to explain what is agronomy or required to give its definition ( or horticulture, or agriculture). Familiarity of the terms and their scope will also simplify literature research. For example, anyone who wishes to find information on cereal crops can likely find the same from books on agronomy rather than on horticulture.

However, it should be realized that the distinction between agronomy and horticulture is not well established. Both terms can also apply to the same crop. This is so with grain or forage corn (agronomic) and sweet or young corn (horticultural) as well as pineapple grown for fiber (agronomic) and those grown for fruit (horticultural).

But primary usage is not the only basis of distinction. Certain global development may cause a significant change that will affect the traditional uses of certain crops. For example, an increase in the world market demand for coconut water from young nuts may drastically affect the production of mature nuts for copra. In addition, other criteria of classification such as the intensity of care and value of the product are also considered, and these may vary with time and place.

In the Philippines, sweet potato and white potato, as well as field beans, are considered horticultural crops based on their intensive management. However, they are classified as agronomic crops in countries where they are grown through mechanized system in extensive scale (Lantican 2002).

According to Janick (2002), the present divisions of agriculture into agronomy and horticulture, as well as forestry, originated with the medieval agriculture in Europe. A system of differentiation was used based on crops and intensity of production. It is agronomy if the production system is in open fields or meadows are utilized to produce grains and fodder for animals. Horticulture was involved with the production of tree fruits and vines, vegetables, ornamental plants, herbs and medicinal plants in kitchen gardens. But, as the distinguished author put it, this system breaks down in the tropics where it is never clear where agronomy ends and horticulture begins.

So what is agronomy?

The term agronomy is derived from the two Greek words agros, meaning field, and nomos, meaning to manage. Thus agronomy has been defined as the art and science of field crop production and management. But this definition of agronomy does not provide a clear demarcation line with general application as to what is agronomy versus horticulture and their scope.

The use of the term �field� or �open field� which has reference to a large or extensive area of production in agronomy as compared to a �garden� or small area in horticulture is no longer reliable The extensiveness of production varies from country to country or even from place to place within the same country depending on many factors such as climate and physical features, availability of capital, and market movement. As of 2009 in the Philippines, pineapple for fruit (a horticultural crop) was grown in 21,864 ha and and 19,300 ha in South Cotabato and Bukidnon, respectively, surpassing the hectarage for the agronomic crop abaca or Manila hemp (549 ha and 3.090 ha, respectively) in the same areas (BAS 2010).

Another question arises: what are agronomic or field crops and what are horticultural crops? An enumeration of the various grouping will better shed light on what is agronomy and what is horticulture (click to go to next page).

Agronomic Crops Distinguished from Horticultural Crops

There are contrasting views but there is general agreement that the following are agronomic crops, that is, the species in each plant grouping belong to the domain of agronomy: cereal or grain crops; grain legumes or pulses and oil seed crops for food, feed or industrial use; pasture and forage crops; fiber crops; sugar crops; and starchy root and tuber crops.

From the different divisions or branches of horticulture, the horticultural crops consist of the olericultural or vegetable crops, pomological or fruit crops and edible nuts, floricultural and other ornamental crops, and nursery crops. In addition, the aromatic crops and the medicinal crops are generally included. The ornamental crops are further grouped into flowering and foliage plants which are grown for special purposes such as for cutflowers, potted plants, landscaping, interior decoration, or floral arrangement.

Horticulture?

It is quite impossible to give an exact definition of horticulture. Neither is it easy to enumerate its scope with definiteness nevertheless substantial enlightenment on the concept, scope, and definition of horticulture can be obtained from the writing of various authorities in the field.

The term horticulture is derived from the Latin words Hortus (meaning garden), and Cultura (meaning cultivation) (The New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, international edition, 2004. Lexicon Publications, Inc. p.468).

According to Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954), an American scholar who can be considered as one of the Fathers of Horticultural Science along with Thomas Andrew Knight (1759-1838) and John Lindley (1799-1865) (Janick 2002), horticulture is the growing of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and of plants for ornament and fancy.

Horticulture in its present concept is that part of plant agriculture concerned with so-called �garden crops� as contrasted with agronomy (field crops, mainly grains and forages) and forestry (forest trees and products). It is the branch of agriculture concerned with intensively cultured plants directly used by man for food, for medicinal purposes, or for esthetic gratification (Janick, 1972).

Horticulture is the science and art involved in the cultivation, propagation, processing and marketing of ornamental plants, flowers, turf, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. It is unique among plant sciences because it not only involves science and technology, but it also incorporates art and principles of design (Louisiana State University, 2011).

Horticulture is the art and science of plant production for both beauty and utility. Rather than staple crops, horticulture focuses on value-added, luxury crops (University of Minnesota, 2011).

General idea about horticulture:

1. Horticulture is a branch of plant agriculture and is both a science and an art. As an art, it incorporates the principles of design (as in landscaping).

2. Horticulture deals with intensively cultured and high-value crops.

3. 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.

This is a common question that confronts both students and workers in plant agriculture. Indeed, it is important to be able to distinguish between the two main divisions of crop production, horticulture and agronomy, in order to acquire better theoretical understanding and skills in either specialized field. The proper delineation of the two divisions will likewise facilitate efforts on research and development directed on certain group of plants.

However, it is quite impossible to give an exact definition of horticulture. Neither is it easy to enumerate its scope with definiteness. Nonetheless, substantial enlightenment on the concept, scope, and definition of horticulture can be obtained from the writing of various authorities in the field.

According to Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954), an American scholar who can be considered as one of the Fathers of Horticultural Science along with Thomas Andrew Knight (1759-1838) and John Lindley (1799-1865) (Janick 2002), horticulture is the growing of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and of plants for ornament and fancy (Ohio State University n.d.).

The term horticulture is derived from the Latin words hortus, meaning garden, and cultura, meaning cultivation (The New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, international edition, 2004. Lexicon Publications, Inc. p.468).

According to Janick (1972), horticulture in its present concept is that part of plant agriculture concerned with so-called �garden crops� as contrasted with agronomy (field crops, mainly grains and forages) and forestry (forest trees and products). He gave the following definition of horticulture: it is the branch of agriculture concerned with intensively cultured plants directly used by man for food, for medicinal purposes, or for esthetic gratification.

According to Louisiana State University (2011), horticulture is the science and art involved in the cultivation, propagation, processing and marketing of ornamental plants, flowers, turf, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. It is unique among plant sciences because it not only involves science and technology, but it also incorporates art and principles of design.

According to University of Minnesota (2011), horticulture is the art and science of plant production for both beauty and utility... Rather than staple crops, horticulture focuses on value-added, luxury crops.

From these definitions the following conclusions can be made to give a general idea on what is horticulture:

1. Horticulture is a branch of plant agriculture and is both a science and an art. As an art, it incorporates the principles of design (as in landscaping).

2. Horticulture deals with intensively cultured and high-value crops.

3. 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.

Main Branches of Horticulture are Enumerated

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 (Louisiana State University 2011) including their use in ornamental construct such as flower arrangement (ISHS 2011).

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.

The following crops are likewise generally included within the domain of the branches of horticulture: perennial bush and tree nuts; and aromatic and medicinal foliage, seeds and roots (ISHS 2011).

In addition, the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS 2011) and Janick (1972; 2002) provide the following descriptors of horticulture:

1. Horticulture differs from agronomy in many ways but some crops can be classified as both horticultural and agronomic depending on use (e.g. sweet corn is horticultural, grain or forage corn is agronomic). In the tropics, however, the distinction between horticulture and agronomy is not clear.

2. Horticulture is intensive. It deals with high-value crops which are intensively cultivated with high infusion of capital in terms of production inputs, labor and technology per land area.

3. Protected cultivation, as in glasshouses and plastic tunnels, and irrigation are common.

4. The following terms are used to refer to production units for horticultural crops: gardens, orchards, groves, vineyards, greenhouses, nurseries, and sometimes plantations.

5. Horticulture supports environmental enhancement through a special branch of horticulture called environmental or urban horticulture which includes home gardening, landscaping, arboriculture (growing of trees), and interior decorating with the use of plants. These activities have been applied in horticultural therapy in which horticultural plants are used as therapeutic tools.

The following table can be used as a general reference in differentiating agronomic crops from horticultural crops:

Table 1. Agronomic vs. horticultural crops.

(Source: Rimando 2004; Janick 2005; ISHS 2011).

However, it is restressed that classification into agronomic crops and horticultural crops varies from country to country and even from author to author. Notable are the rubber crop, plantation crops and industrial crops. Abellanosa and Pava (1987) classified rubber under agronomic crops but Lantican (2002) and Rimando (2004) put them under horticultural crops. On the international level, ISHS (2011) clarifies that plantations engaged in the growing of plants for the production of latex used in the manufacture of rubber, as well as for the production of oil for food or industry (e.g. oil palm) are not under horticulture.

LITERATURE CITED

JANICK J. 1972. Horticultural Science. 2nd ed. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. 586 p.

JANICK J. 2002. Lecture 30: Origins of horticultural science. In: History of Horticulture. Purdue University. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture30/lec30.html.

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. 2011. What is/careers. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.horticulture.lsu.edu/whatis.html.

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY. n.d. Notes on what is horticulture. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/tmi/hcs210/WhatsHort/BaileyHort-1.html.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. 2011. What is horticulture? Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.horticulture.umn.edu/ProspectiveStudents/What/index.htm.

(Ben G. Bareja. October 2011)

ISHS [INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE]. 2011. Defining horticulture, horticultural products and horticultural science. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.ishs.org/definition/.

JANICK J. 1972. Horticultural Science. 2nd ed. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. 586 p.

JANICK J. 2002. Lecture 30: Origins of horticultural science. In: History of Horticulture. Purdue University. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture30/lec30.html.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. 2011. What is/careers. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.horticulture.lsu.edu/whatis.html.
ABELLANOSA AA, PAVA HM. 1987. An Introduction to Crop Science. Musuan, Bukidnon, Phils.: Central Mindanao University. 245 p.
[BAS] BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. 2010. Major Crops Statistics of the Philippines 2005-2009. Quezon Ave., Q.C.: DA-BAS. 241 p.
JANICK J. 2002. Lectures 20-21: Medieval and renaissance agriculture in Europe. In: History of Horticulture. Purdue University. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture20/lec20.html.
JANICK J. 2005. Horticultural plant breeding: past accomplishments, future directions. Proc. IS on Hort. in Asian-Pacific Region (Drew R, ed.). Acta Hort. 694:61-65. Retrieved 08, 2011 from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pdfs/acta694.pdf.
LANTICAN RM. 2001. The Science and Practice of Crop Production. College, Los Banos, Laguna, Phils: SEAMEO SEARCA and UPLB. 330 p.
RIMANDO TJ. 2004. Crop Science 1: Fundamentals of Crop Science (Lecture Syllabus). UPLB, College, Laguna: University Publications Office. 145 p.