Breeding
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The isolation and production of superior types known as cultivars are the very keystones of horticulture. Plant breeding, the systematic improvement of plants through the application of genetic principles, has placed improvement of horticultural plants on a scientific basis. The raw material of improvement is found in the great variation that exists between cultivated plants and related wild species. The incorporation of these changes into cultivars adapted to specific geographical areas requires a knowledge of the theoretical basis of heredity and art and the skill to discover, perpetuate, and combine these small but fundamental differences in plant material.
The goal of the plant breeder is to create superior crop varieties. The cultivated variety, or cultivar, can be defined as a group of crop plants having similar but distinguishable characteristics. The term cultivar has various meanings, however, depending on the mode of reproduction of the crop. With reference to asexually propagated crops, the term cultivar means any particular clone considered of sufficient value to be graced with a name. With reference to sexually propagated crops, the concept of cultivar depends on the method of pollination. The cultivar in self-pollinated crops is basically a particular homozygous genotype, a pure line. In cross-pollinated crops the cultivar is not necessarily typified by any one plant but sometimes by a particular plant population, which at any one time is composed of genetically distinguishable individuals.
Environmental control
Control of the natural environment is a major part of all forms of cultivation, whatever its scale. The basic processes involved in this task have already been described in a preceding section on the principles of gardening, and these also apply to horticulture. The scale, intensiveness, and economic risk in commercial gardening and nurseries, however, often require approaches markedly different from those of the small home garden; and some of these are described here.
The intensive cultivation practiced in horticulture relies on extensive control of the environment for all phases of plant life. The most basic environmental control is achieved by location and site: sunny or shady sites, proximity to bodies of water, altitude, and latitude.
Structures
Various structures are used for temperature control. Cold frames, used to start plants before the normal growing season, are low enclosed beds covered with a removable sash of glass or plastic. Radiant energy passes through the transparent top and warms the soil directly. Heat, however, as long-wave radiation, is prevented from leaving the glass or plastic cover at night. Thus heat that builds up in the cold frame during the day aids in warming the soil, which releases its heat gradually at night to warm the plants. When supplemental heat is provided, the structures are called hotbeds. At first, supplemental heat was supplied by respiration through the decomposition of manure or other organic matter. Today, heat is provided by electric cables, steam, or hot-water pipes buried in the soil.
Greenhouses are large hotbeds, and in most cases the source of heat is steam. While they were formerly made of glass, plastic films are now extensively used. Modern greenhouse ranges usually have automatic temperature control. Summer temperatures can be regulated by shading or evaporative “fan-and-pad” cooling devices. Air-conditioning units are usually too expensive except for scientific work. Greenhouses with precise environmental controls are known as phytotrons and can be used for plants with specific growing requirements or for scientific experiments and environmental modeling. Other environmental factors are controlled through automatic watering, regulation of light and shade, addition of carbon dioxide, and the regulation of fertility.
Shade houses are usually walk-in structures with shading provided by lath or screening. Summer propagation is often located in shade houses to reduce excessive water loss by transpiration.
Temperature control
A number of temperature-control techniques are used in the field, including application of hot caps, cloches, plastic tunnels, and mulches of various types. Hot caps are cones of translucent paper or plastic that are placed over the tops of plants in the spring. These act as miniature greenhouses. In the past small glass sash called cloches were placed over rows to help keep them warm. Polyethylene tunnels supported by wire hoops that span the plants are now used for the same purpose. As spring advances the tunnels are slashed to prevent excessive heat buildup. In some cases the plastic tunnels are constructed so that they can be opened and closed when necessary.
Mulching (already described in its application to domestic gardens) is important in horticulture. Whether in the form of a topdressing of manure or compost or plastic sheeting, mulches offer the grower the various benefits of economical plant feeding, conservation of moisture, and control of weeds and erosion. Winter mulches are commonly used to protect such sensitive and valuable plants as strawberries and roses.
The storage of perishable plant products is accomplished largely through the regulation of their temperature to retard respiration and microbial activity. Excess water loss can be prevented by controlling humidity. Facilities that utilize the temperature of the atmosphere are called common storage. The most primitive types take advantage of the reduced temperature fluctuations of the soil by using caves or unheated cellars. Aboveground structures must be insulated and ventilated. Complete temperature-regulated storages utilizing refrigeration and heating are now common for storage of horticultural products. The regulation of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels along with the regulation of temperature is known as controlled-atmosphere storage. Rooms are sealed so that gaseous exchange can be effectively controlled. Many horticultural products, such as fruit, can be kept fresh for as long as a year under these controlled conditions. If necessary, ripening can be induced with the application of ethylene gas, which is produced by fruits under natural conditions.
Frost control
Frost is one of the high-risk elements for commercial growers, and the problem is accentuated by the fact that growers are striving to produce early-season crops. The precautions are consequently far more elaborate and costly than those of the domestic garden. Frost is especially damaging to perennial fruit crops in the spring—because flower parts are sensitive to freezing injury—and to tender transplants. The two weather conditions that produce freezing temperatures are rapid radiational cooling at night and introduction of a cold air mass with temperatures below freezing. Radiation frost occurs when the weather is clear and calm; air-mass freezes occur when it is overcast and windy.
Frost-control methods involve either reduction of radiational heat loss or conservation or addition of heat. Radiational heat loss may be reduced by hot caps, cold frames, or mulches. Heat may also be added from the air. Wind machines that stir up the air, for example, provide heat when temperature inversions trap cold air under a layer of warm air. These have been used extensively in citrus groves. Heat may be added directly by using heaters, usually fueled with oil. Sprinkler irrigation can also be used for frost control. The formation of ice is accompanied by the release of large amounts of heat, which maintains plants at the freezing temperature as long as the water is being frozen. Thus continuous sprinkling during frosty nights has been used to protect strawberries from frost injury.
Frost injury to transplants can be prevented through processes that increase the plants’ ability to survive the impact of unfavourable environmental stress. This is known as hardening off. Hardening off of plants prior to transplanting can be accomplished by withholding water and fertilizer, especially nitrogen. This prevents formation of succulent tissue that is very frost-tender. Gradual exposure to cold is also effective for hardening. Induced cold resistance in crops such as cabbage, for example, can have a considerable effect: unhardened cabbages begin to show injury at −2.2 °C (28 °F), while hardened plants withstand temperatures as low as −5.6 °C (22 °F).
Light control
Light has a tremendous effect on plant growth. It provides energy for photosynthesis, the process by which plants, with the aid of the pigment chlorophyll, synthesize carbon compounds from water and carbon dioxide. Light also influences a great number of physiological reactions in plants. At energy values lower than those required for photosynthesis, light affects such processes as dormancy, flowering, tuberization, and seed-stalk development. In many cases these processes are affected by the length of day; the recurrent cycle of light is known as the photoperiod.
The control of light in horticultural practices involves increasing energy values for photosynthesis and controlling day length. Light is controlled in part by site and location. In the tropics day length approaches 12 hours throughout the year, whereas in polar regions it varies from zero to 24 hours. Light is also partly controlled by plant distribution and density.
Supplemental illumination in greenhouses increases photosynthesis. The cost of power to supply the artificial light, however, makes this impractical for all but crops of the highest value. Fluorescent lights are the most efficient for photosynthesis; special lights, rich in the wavelengths required, are also available.
Extension of day length through supplemental illumination and shading is common practice in the production of greenhouse flower crops, which are often induced to flower out of season. Artificial lengthening of short days, or interruption of the dark period, promotes flowering in long-day plants such as lettuce and spinach and prevents flowering of short-day plants such as chrysanthemums. Similarly, during naturally long days, shading to reduce day length prevents flowering of long-day plants and promotes flowering of short-day plants. The manipulation of day length is standard practice to control flowering of greenhouse chrysanthemums throughout the year. Tungsten lights have proved very effective for extending day length because they are rich in the red end of the spectrum that affects the photoperiodic reaction. Extending the day length is a relatively affordable practice because only a low light intensity is required. The same effects can be obtained through interruption of the dark period, even with light flashes. Decreasing day length is usually accomplished by simply covering the plants with black shade cloth.