Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science
Domain 1 tests the framework vocabulary every later question borrows: the branches of horticulture, how crops are classified, and the plant-science principles that explain field practices.
Branches and scope
- Pomology (fruits), olericulture (vegetables), floriculture (flowers), viticulture (grapes), arboriculture (trees), plantation crops and post-harvest technology.
- Horticulture differs from agronomy mainly in intensity of cultivation, high value per unit area and perishability of produce.
Classification and climate
- Life cycle: annual (tomato), biennial (onion, cabbage), perennial (mango, coconut).
- Climate groups: tropical (banana, sapota), subtropical (citrus, guava), temperate (apple, pear).
- Ripening behaviour: climacteric (banana, mango, tomato) versus non-climacteric (grape, citrus, pomegranate).
Physiology linked to practice
- C3, C4 and CAM pathways; stomatal control; transpiration pull.
- Photoperiodism (chrysanthemum is short-day) and vernalization (cabbage, apple).
- Hormones: auxin for rooting and apical dominance; gibberellin for internode elongation and bolting; cytokinin for cell division; abscisic acid for stomatal closure; ethylene for ripening and abscission.
Worked example
Classify banana: herbaceous perennial with a pseudostem (not a woody trunk), tropical, climacteric, and parthenocarpic fruit set without fertilisation. Grape: woody deciduous vine, subtropical, non-climacteric. Reasoning: each label comes from an observable character, not from market use.
Marks-losing traps
- Calling banana a tree; the pseudostem is leaf-sheath tissue.
- Tagging citrus or grape as climacteric.
- Swapping hormone functions, especially GA and auxin.