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.
A new study from scientists at Purdue University reports that far-red radiation, in combination with increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, significantly enhances biomass production in young leaf lettuce grown under ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 26, 2026
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Two complementary studies, appearing in HortScience, from Rutgers University are advancing the potential of amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) as a valuable leafy green by combining detailed morphological characterization with evaluations ...
Biotechnology
Jun 22, 2026
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Researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife are sending hundreds of grape seeds to the International Space Station, where the seeds will spend approximately six months exposed to cosmic radiation before returning to Earth for planting ...
Space Exploration
Jun 18, 2026
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A study led by researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Malaga has revealed how organic farming—using natural substances and processes and avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals—can, in the long ...
Ecology
May 21, 2026
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14
A new study, conducted by researchers from the Netherlands and Germany, estimates that urban agriculture in European cities could produce up to 20 million tons of vegetables annually, representing roughly one-third of the ...
Agriculture
Apr 28, 2026
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Results recently published in the journal Plant and Soil by the researchers of the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ) show that strip tillage combined with rye mulch can maintain stable yields of white ...
Agriculture
Apr 23, 2026
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For the first time, a team of researchers from Stellenbosch University (SU) and the Agricultural Research Council has successfully edited the DNA of a woody crop plant in Africa by making precise changes to its genetic material. ...
Biotechnology
Apr 20, 2026
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13
California's processing tomato industry for the first time this past harvest season, agreed to voluntary equipment cleaning and notification guidelines to prevent the spread of branched broomrape, a parasitic weed that attaches ...
Ecology
Apr 16, 2026
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15
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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99
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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