Horticulture is the specialized branch of agriculture focused on the intensive cultivation, management, and improvement of garden crops, including fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and landscape plants. As a human activity, it integrates plant propagation, breeding, nutrition, protection, and postharvest handling to optimize yield, quality, and aesthetic or functional traits. Horticultural practice encompasses controlled-environment production (e.g., greenhouses), field systems, and urban or peri-urban landscapes, often involving high-value, labor- and knowledge-intensive cropping. It plays a key role in diversifying agroecosystems, supporting dietary quality, and providing plant material for ecological restoration, amenity planting, and research on plant physiology and genetics.
Pennsylvania is the fourth-largest wine producer in the United States, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The industry supports nearly 11,000 jobs and directly contributes $1.77 billion to the state ...
Ecology
Apr 9, 2026
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An article published in CABI Agriculture and Bioscience calls for a diverse, participatory approach that combines indigenous, local knowledge systems with modern technologies to tackle plant diseases and strengthen food security ...
Ecology
Mar 31, 2026
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For many of us, food is something we buy at a supermarket or order at a café. We usually give little thought to the complex systems required to produce and deliver it—until they stop working. It's not common to think of Australia ...
Biotechnology
Mar 2, 2026
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Thinking about food systems in deep space likely brings to mind something like The Martian where an astronaut is scratching barely enough food to survive out of potatoes grown in Martian regolith. Or perhaps a fancy hydroponic ...
Space Exploration
Feb 25, 2026
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Plant owners with a so-called green thumb often seem to have a more finely tuned sense of what their plants need than the rest of us. A new "smart lighting" system for indoor vertical farms grants this ability on a facility-wide ...
Biotechnology
Feb 23, 2026
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Growing lettuce in the Arctic as a business venture? One Greenland entrepreneur believes in the idea, selling his house to get start-up capital in a gamble he's hoping will pay off.
Agriculture
Feb 17, 2026
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A national survey of the four supply-chain sectors involved in the production and sale of flowers and ornamental plants shows that sustainability practices—those already implemented and those planned for the future—differ ...
Agriculture
Feb 11, 2026
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Imagine a world where fresh vegetables and herbs sprout in the heart of our cities without the need for sprawling farms. Hydroponics—a method of growing plants without soil—uses a nutrient-rich water solution instead of earth ...
Agriculture
Feb 3, 2026
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112
Researchers led by Yasunori Ichihashi at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan recently examined how different kinds of pesticides and fertilizers affect mandarin oranges across Japan. Their study, ...
Biotechnology
Jan 30, 2026
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In a groundbreaking study, scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) redefined the value of roots in industrial hemp, providing new opportunities for industrial hemp growers and ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 12, 2026
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