Horticulture Exam Review Flashcards

Flashcards providing key vocabulary and definitions from the horticulture lecture notes for exam preparation.

Floriculture

The cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants, including potted and cut flowers.

Nursery Production

The large-scale growing of trees, shrubs, and perennials, primarily for transplanting.

Phytosanitary Certificate

An official document required for shipping plants across state or international borders, certifying they are free of pests and disease.

Pot Bound (Circling Roots)

A condition in container plants where roots fill the pot and begin to grow in a circular pattern, which can harm the plant long-term.

Container Grown Method

A major production method for nursery crops

pros: known for flexibility, year-round production, ease of shipping

cons: can lead to circling roots.

Balled and Burlapped (B&B)

A classic method for growing trees, which involves harvesting plants with a soil ball wrapped in burlap.

Pot-in-Pot Method

A hybrid growing system where a production pot sits inside a permanent inground socket pot, combining benefits of container and field growing (guarantees year round harvest)

Photoperiodism

A plant's flowering response to the length of uninterrupted darkness.

Daily Light Integral (DLI)

The total quantity of photosynthetic light a plant receives over a 12-hour period.

DIF

The mathematical difference between the day temperature and the night temperature (Day Temperature - Night Temperature), used to control plant height.

Flagging/Wilting

plant's base begins to droop, key indicator for watering, can indicate over or under watering

Fertigation

The technology of applying water-soluble fertilizers directly through the irrigation system.

pH

The acidity or basicity of substrate, crucial for controlling nutrient availability to plants.

Electrical Conductivity (EC)

Amount of dissolved salts in the substrate solution, best indicator of the fertilizer level

Leachate

The water sample that drains out from the bottom of a container after irrigation, used for testing EC and pH values.

PourThru Method

A nondestructive technology used to collect leachate samples from containers for testing their EC and pH values.

Ideal pH Range for Container Substrates

5.8 to 6.2

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

A comprehensive strategy combining cultural, biological, and chemical tactics to keep pest populations below damage levels in an environmentally friendly way.

Asexual Propagation

A method of creating a new plant from a parent plant part to produce a genetically identical clone. Important to prevent heterozygosity true-to-type plant

Totipotency

The ability of a single plant cell to regenerate an entire organism, forming the scientific basis for tissue culture.

Aseptic Technique (Tissue Culture)

The golden rule of tissue culture, requiring a sterile and contamination-free environment for in vitro culture.

Explant

A small piece of parent tissue used to initiate an in vitro (tissue) culture.

Acclimatization (Hardening Off)

Stage 4 of tissue culture, where regenerated plants are gradually adapted to external environmental conditions to strengthen them for the real world.

Cytokinin-to-Auxin Ratio (High Cytokinin)

In tissue culture, a high cytokinin to low auxin ratio typically induces shoot development from plant tissue.

Cytokinin-to-Auxin Ratio (High Auxin)

In tissue culture, a high auxin to low cytokinin ratio typically induces root development from plant tissue.

Cytokinin-to-Auxin Ratio (Balanced)

In tissue culture, a balanced ratio of cytokinin and auxin typically promotes callus formation, from which differentiated shoots can be obtained.

Air Layering Principle (Phloem Removal)

The removal of phloem tissue (bark) to interrupt sugar and auxin transport, causing accumulation in the upper part of the cutting area to induce rooting.

Soilless Substrate Properties

• low density

• high porosity

• high drainage

• primarily made of organic components, differing fundamentally from field soil.

Grower's Particles

The components of soilless substrate that growers manage to create pores for optimal air and water availability to roots.

Phytosanitary Certificate

An official document required for shipping plants across state or international borders, certifying they are free of pests and disease.

What are the five sectors of ornamental horticulture?

Floriculture, Nursery Production, Interior Plantscaping, Landscape Horticulture, Arboreta and Botanical Gardens

In-Ground Method

classic method for larger plants

pros: natural root dev. , access to natural nutrients and water, produces very large specimen

cons: Implies a rigid harvest schedule, especially for very large plants.

Forcing Flowering in Short-Day Plants (e.g., Mums, Poinsettias)

create long nights using blackout curtains

Forcing Flowering in Long-Day Plants

Create short nights by interrupting darkness with supplemental lighting (light-interrupting lighting)

Negative DIF (Day Temp < Night Temp)

Goal is to create a compact plant utilizing the environment, can help reduce need for chemical regulators

Colder days and warmer nights→shorter internodes

Low EC Value

indicates nutrient deficiency

fix by increasing fert rate or frequency

High EC Value

indicates high salt levels → damages roots

fix by flushing sub w/ water to wash out excess salts

Aphids

• honeydew prod

• black sooty mold

• tiny, soft-bodied, pear shape

• cornicles on rear

• on underside of leaf

Whiteflies

• moth-like

• cloudy/fluffy when plant agitated

• produce honeydew

Thrips

• tiny, skinny, yellow-black

• hide in buds

• silvering, bronzing, distorts flowers

Spider Mites

• red or green w/ two dark spots

• hot dry conditions

• grays foliage, webbing in late stages

Mealybugs

Cottony masses (white, waxy residue) on stems/leaf axils.

Redheaded Flea Beetle

• black w/ red head

• jump when disturbed

• shot-holes

• major AL container nursery pest, too mobile

Bagworms

visible sacks attatched to branches

Fire Ants

• can infest any container or field-stock in infested zones

• AL has USDA Fire Ant quarantine

• Mounds disrupt roots

• stings harm worker safety

IPM Cultural

Preventative measures that modify the growing environment.

ex: proper spacing, GMO cultivar, sanitation

IPM Physical

Direct removal or modification

ex; removing infected stems/branches

IPM Biological

Utilizing natural enemies to control pests, often effective in early stages of infestation.

ex: intro beneficial insects like ladybeetles, lacewings, predatory mites

IPM Chemical

Pesticide application, last resort when others insufficient

Heterozygosity

genetic characteristic of unique ornamental that prevents growing true-to-type from seeds. This is why asexual propagation is crucial for maintaining desired traits and genetic consistency

5 stages of Tissue Culture Procedure

(0) Selection, (1) Initiation, (2) Multiplication, (3) Rooting, (4/5) Accumulation/Hardening-Off

Stage 0: Selection

Choose a stock plant that is healthy, strong, juvenile (if possible), disease-free, and genetically valuable.

Stage 1: Initiation

Sanitize plant using ethanol or bleach to ensure explants are contamination-free before culturing in jars

Stage 2: Multiplication

Apply cytokinin in appropriate ratios to encourage explant to sprout multiple shoots, leading to increase in plant material

Stage 3: Rooting

Use auxin, often in specific concentrations, to induce root formation on regenerated shoots

Stage 4/5: Acclimation/ Hardening-Off

Gradually decrease the humidity (e.g., by slowly opening a humidity dome) to allow the plant to strengthen and adapt