Difference Between Floriculture and Horticulture (With Table)

Floriculture is a branch of ornamental  Horticulture that focuses on the cultivation, sale, and arrangement of flower and decorative plants. The field of Floriculture is concerned with the cultivation, marketing, and arranging of flowers and ornamental plants, among other things. Floriculture is now a worth billion of dollars business with a global footprint.

 Horticulture is a branch of plant cultivation that concentrates on garden crops.  The phrase ” Horticulture” is derived from the Latin words hortus meaning garden and colere meaning to plant. It is a comprehensive term that encompasses all aspects of garden maintenance, but it is most commonly used to refer to a rigorous commercial plantation.

Comparison Table Between Floriculture and  Horticulture

What is Floriculture?

The term Floriculture encompasses both the culture of bedding plants and the creation of cuttings for use as house plants in greenhouses. It is generally considered that Floriculture is a greenhouse business since flowers and pot plants are grown in plant-growing facilities in moderate climates, while some flowers are cultivated outdoors in conservatories or cropland.

Floriculture includes a wide range of crops such as bedding plants, flower pots, herbaceous decorative annual plants, leafy plants, and fresh flowers. Plants grown for annual display in flower beds and outdoor receptacles such as pots and dangling arrangements are known as bedding plants. Potted plants, on the other hand, are blossoming plants that have reached maturity and are marketed in pots or receptacles. These two plant types constitute the majority of Floriculture.

Floriculture Business: Floriculture businesses provide fresh and preserved flowers and leaves for a variety of industries, including wholesale floral markets, florists, and retail stores, as well as for export in some situations. These businesses employ various groups of people and help retailers and small businesses to increase the scope of their business.

Floriculture is one of the most successful and growing businesses apart from this it also plays a vital role in our everyday life, such as:

• Flowers have long been seen as a sign of grace and beauty, as well as a visual feast, it is also utilized for various religious festivals.
• Floriculture provides us flowers that are used by us as birthday gifts, wedding gifts as well as a token of care when we visit someone who is sick.
• The flowers that we use for decoration during festivals or celebration also comes from Floriculture not only that these flowers are also used in flower arrangements, making garlands, bouquets, etc.

What is Horticulture?

 Horticulture is essentially the art and practice of cultivating and managing gardens. This term refers to all aspects of garden maintenance. Furthermore, when viewed on a larger scale,  Horticulture stands midway between residential planting and field agriculture. Garden crops, often fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants, are typically involved. Horticultural crops come in different varieties, comprising both seasonal and perennial species. Furthermore, these crops serve to sustain and enrich lives by providing healthy food, beautifying the environment, and lowering our carbon footprint.

Furthermore,  Horticulture can be divided into various subdivisions such as pomology, olericulture, floriculture, and landscape Horticulture.  Pomology is concerned with fruit and nut crops, whereas olericulture is concerned with herbaceous plants used in the kitchen, such as tubers,  shoots, foliage, etc. which are all edible.

 Horticulture Business: The  Horticulture sector encompasses the cultivation, manufacturing, and transportation of fruits and vegetables, as well as the marketplace for them. As such, it is a subset of agribusiness and industrialized agriculture. The Floriculture industry, as well as the cultivation and trade of attractive flowers, are sometimes included in industrialized  Horticulture.

 Horticulture has evolved from its traditional methods of growing crops to its modern technology of cultivating plants and vegetation. It is also useful for us in various aspects such as:

•  Horticulture vegetables add variety to agricultural goods and meals.
• They provide us with essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins.
• The plants grown under  Horticulture production have medicinal properties that are beneficial for the health of an individual.
•  Horticulture crops and plants are in great demand in the international market, which helps to boost our economy.

Main differences Between Floriculture and  Horticulture

1. Floriculture is the subset of  Horticulture, while  Horticulture is a bigger concept that includes various types of plantation methods.

2. The main focus in Floriculture is on flowers and foliage whereas  Horticulture focuses on flowers, plants, vegetables, fruits, etc.

3. Floriculture promotes our health by giving therapeutic flowers and plants, but  Horticulture benefits us not only by providing medicinal plants and flowers but also by providing vitamins and important nutrients through its fruits and vegetables.

4. Floriculture only includes flower cultivation whereas,  Horticulture considers all areas of agriculture.

5. In contrast to Floriculture, which requires a large area for plantation, Horticulture can be done in smaller areas as well.

Conclusion

We all want our surrounding to look beautifully elegant and attractive, for that purpose, we plant beautiful flowers and plants, we also grow a few crops in our kitchen garden or plants pots so that we can have fresh vegetables. Floriculture and  Horticulture use the same techniques but on a larger scale. Sometimes these two terms are confused with one another but the main difference is that Floriculture mainly deals in flowers and foliage whereas  Horticulture deals with the cultivation of flowers as well as fruits and vegetables.

References

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969713013545
• https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/5634670